Ylissian North
by blinkingbrave
Summary: As the new transfer to Ylissian North High, Robin's sophomore year is complicated further when her brother makes her the conductor of the school's new pep band. Robin wants nothing more than to be left alone. Life, however, is never that simple. Band!AU. Pairings open. Brief recap in new chapter for regulars. Update: Anna writes a newspaper special on Robin. Robin combats feelings.
1. Robin - Welcome to Ylissian High

**Obviously none of the characters here are mine... I don't own Fire Emblem: Awakening or the cover image, which is also owned by Nintendo. This disclaimer holds throughout the story in its current entirety unless otherwise marked.  
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**Edited 11/24/2014. Going back and editing veeeeeeeeery slowly.  
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**Enjoy!**

* * *

"You'll love it here… Really. I do. Just give it a little time." Robert gave his sister a comforting smile as he climbed up the steps to Ylissian North High. He had already begun to turn around, but Robin rolled her eyes at his back anyways. They may have had the same silvery hair and fair complexion, but being twins hardly meant they were the same. Robert, with his perpetual good nature and poor posture-too many books-, Robin knew, was the 'happy' twin.

She stole one glance at the sturdy building and sighed. In the name of space conservation, the architect had decided to pile floors on top of floors, creating a giant brick tower peppered with long windows. The mess was an eyesore, and it didn't bode well for any creativity inside. "I don't want to be here."

"School?" Robert teased. He hopped up a few more steps and turned back to his sister. Even after their year of separation, Robert's insufferable, omnipresent sense of humor was still running strong. Joy. Robin rolled her eyes again, making sure Robert actually saw it. "Few people do." And he continues anyways, Robin thought drily. At least he had grown a backbone while she was gone.

"No. I don't want to be here. Here, specifically," Robin replied. Perhaps dry, boring bookworms like her brother could work in that brick monstrosity, but Robin could already weep for... for everything. She missed Plegian. Shifting her backpack on her shoulder, Robin strode ahead of her brother and into Ylissian. Spinning a circle in the main lobby, Robin sighed. The interior was just as stifling as the exterior, brick, brick, and more brick. It was still too early for students, and those that loitered in the hallways yawned at her. "Which way is the piano?"

Robert laughed. Of course something was funny about her desire to confirm that there was at least one good thing in this institution. There was always something funny with Robert. Three days back, and it was driving her up a wall. "We walked here early so you could talk to our homeroom teacher and get your class schedule. I'll show you the music room later." And his goody-two-shoes routine. That wasn't getting on her nerves either. Nope. Robin frowned but followed Robert as he turned down one of the hallways. Lockers lined the halls, and the occasional student dotted the hallway. Opening a classroom door, Robert gestured inside. "This is our homeroom. Now that you're here, I'm going to catch up with some friends of mine. Text me if you need me. Okay?" Robin skirted around Robert and his cheery smile wordlessly.

The room was deserted. Robin slipped her nearly empty bag on to a nearby table and slid onto a stool. Instead of desks the classroom was filled with long, perfectly aligned tables. Someone, Robin supposed, had too much time on their hands, if they felt compelled to straighten the tables so exactly. Cabinets filled with labelled jars and scientific equipment lined the sides of the classroom. A jarred fetal pig peered out at her from the nearest counter, dead pig eyes mirroring Robin's.

"Miss Robin?" Robin spun around in her seat. A reserved woman, tall and severe, looked down at her. Raising a hand to her glasses, the woman frowned. "Miss Robin. This is indeed who you are, yes?"

"Ah, yes ma'm. My brother Robert…" This was the authority, then. For a teacher, the woman was surprisingly young, and despite the best efforts of her highly conservative clothing and expression of general distaste, she looked in her mid twenties. With a sharp slap, the teacher deposited a thick stack of papers on the table.

"I am Ms. Miriel Platt. You may address me by either name. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Opening her mouth to reply, Robin closed it as her instructor continued on. "Read the papers I have given you. All of them. They will be crucial to your integration within our school system," Ms. Miriel said. Robin glanced down at the huge stack of papers and slumped a little lower. Ms. Miriel frowned, and Robin straightened herself again. "I also noted your first class, Biology, is in attendance with me. Therefore…" Ms. Miriel bent into one of the cabinets and pulled a thick textbook from a shelf. She strode over to Robin and delicately placed the book in front of her. The gecko on the book's cover pleaded at the student through a thin film of dust. "I will bestow this upon you now." Ms. Miriel took a seat at the lone desk at the front of the room. "That is all, Miss Robin. Enjoy your sophomore year at Ylissian."

Robin sat for a few minutes in silence, but Ms. Miriel didn't look up. Collecting her things in her bag, she saw Robert had texted her. "If you finish up early, come find me. I'm outside, by the tree. Just take a right and keep going." Robin could imagine the words in her twin's voice, perhaps accompanied by a dopey smile. When would he realize she didn't want to make friends? Pulling her locker combination from her pile of papers, Robin strode out of the classroom. The lockers lined the halls in two stacked rows. With a sigh, Robin bent down to a lower locker. A boy reclined on the locker to her left, and Robin was careful to avoid eye contact. Despite her best efforts, Robin found her locker impossible to open.

* * *

"Geez, Robin. Are you taking all your books home with you?" Robert asked. He was like a small puppy, Robin decided, all pleading eyes and piteous whines. All Robert was missing was a wagging tail, and no one would be able to tell him from a Labrador. "You received a locker, right? Do you need help with it?"

"I'm fine," Robin said. She squared her slumping shoulders, shooting Robert a scowl as she almost stumbled under the weight redistribution. Plegian didn't have lockers. Probably because the school was inherently better and didn't need to torture its students with inoperable metal contraptions. "Now, where did you need to go?" She rearranged her bag, now heavy with books, on her shoulders. Robert frowned lightly but started walking down the hall. Robin trailed after him.

"How was your first day of class? If you need anything… Well, I know public and private schools are different, so…" Robert let his sentence dangle awkwardly. The boy rolled his shoulders, rippling the loose fabric in his t-shirt, some Star Wars thing Robin figured he would grow out of in the year she was gone. Instead, Robert was essentially the same person, the sweet, nerdy baby she had left a year ago. The only thing that had grown about him was his height.

Robin chewed on her lip. Robert genuinely wanted to make her feel welcome. Trailing behind him, she watched him tug on a few strands of pale hair, long fingers mussing the back of his already messy bedhead. "You worry too much."

It must not have come out as gruff as Robin wanted, because Robert grinned at her over his shoulder. "Consider it pay back for the thirteen years you worried after me." The childhood card. Robert never understood a year of separation and their parent's divorce had long tainted that for her. Robin blinked to find Robert looking to her expectantly, hand resting on a classroom doorknob.

"What?"

"So, the music room… Well, this is it…" Praise the gods. Perhaps Robert wasn't completely useless. Robin started towards the door, but Robert kept it shut. "Thing is, students aren't allowed to use the school facilities after school hours…" Robin narrowed her eyes. Only in a middle of nowhere, one-light town… "Vandals... The joys of public school, eh?" Robert bubbled out a nervous laugh before clapping a sheepish hand over his mouth.

"That's idiotic. I'm going in there anyways."

"Wait—"

Robert moved to block her, but Robin pushed him out of her path. Swinging open the door, she strode inside. An ebony piano stood in the center of the room. Despite her initial opinions of the school, the instrument was surprisingly beautiful. Someone in this hellhole kept it carefully maintained. Robin drifted towards it, just to run her hands over the keys, but instead of an empty bench, a student sat in front of the piano, reclining on the closed key cover. Robin stopped, Robert colliding with her back. Resting an elbow on the piano, the boy studied her with a confident gaze. "This your sister, Robert?" he asked.

Robin began to twirl to face her brother and froze. A small group of students hovered at the side of the room. One or two smiled at her. Whipping around to Robert, she found him studying the floor, hand lost in his hair. She glared at him. "What's this?" Robert looked up at her, but Robin spun to face the boy by the piano. "And you," she hissed, "why is your bare elbow resting on the piano? Does it look like an arm rest?" The boy straightened up, guilty grimace screwing his self-assured gaze. Robin flicked her eyes up and down the boy. Deep blue hair, sleeveless shirt displaying toned arms, general air of self-confidence. Was this what the delinquents here looked like? Turning to Robert, she swung her arm across the students lounging in the music room. "Explain."

Robert glanced apologetically beyond Robin, to the boy sitting at the piano. "I was trying to, but you charged in." Robin refused to lighten her expression. "Students aren't allowed in classrooms after hours, regularly. However, students in clubs are allowed use of school facilities, even on days where clubs don't meet. I knew you would want to use the piano, so I signed you up for something with me." Robert locked eyes with his sister. He faced her squarely, but the concern in his eyes belied his confident exterior. "It's not what you're used to, none of that fancy music academy stuff." Robin folded her arms over her chest. "But it'll get you piano access."

"The catch?"

"Conduct our pep band," the boy behind her cut in, his deep voice silencing Robert. Pushing himself up from the piano, he sauntered over and stuck out a hand. The light muscles in his arm rippled at the motion. "I'm Chrom, the organizer and a friend of your brother. Nice to meet you."

Robin stared at his hand. "Sleeveless clothing is against dress code. I read the rulebook." It was the first thing that came to mind. "I thought all of my brother's friends feared the sun." Aaaand there was the second. The corners of Chrom's mouth twitched, and wow, did that smile do good things to all of him. The boy was a blue haired Apollo. Shaking her head, Robin looked towards the others in the room. "Your band only has eleven people in it. None of you have instruments out. You were leaning against that poor piano…" Chrom grimaced at that. "That olive haired boy in the back appears to be asleep. Why are you all even here?"

A redhead jerked upward. Eyes narrowed in a scowl, the girl thrust one hand on her hips and the other out at Robin. She was easily just as muscular as Chrom, and her own tank top and athletic shorts combo complemented her build. "Oi! Why dontcha cool your pretentious-"

"Sully." Chrom held a hand out to silence the girl, and Sully quieted. Robin raised her eyebrows at him, and Chrom smiled in return. The redhead glared venomously at a music stand, arms folded across her chest as if holding in her objections.

Frilly dress twirling around her knees, a blonde girl, younger than the rest, bounced up to Robin. Rocking back and forth on heeled boots, she smiled at Robin. "We were waiting for you," she chirped. "I'm Lissa, Chrom's younger sister and another friend of your brother." Lissa's smile was infectious, and Robin found herself fighting the urge to return it. "I know we look kinda hopeless right now, but we've all got instruments we can play. And Robert," Lissa grinned at the boy. Her brother ducked his head with a light blush. "Well, he's been telling us how wonderful you are. With your direction, I'm sure we could whip up a half decent band."

"The time commitment we need is little," Chrom cut in. "The tunes are simple. We practice today, tomorrow and Wednesday, so you can have the other days free. We play at some sports games and maybe some other venues, low key stuff. We don't have many members now, but the school has never had a pep band before this. With time, we should get more members."

Lissa snuck over to bounce beside her brother, and the two of them eyed Robin with equally pleading looks. Robert sidled next to Lissa, fidgeting with his hair yet again. Robin looked at the trio and beyond them to the piano. The piano… She wouldn't last a week without her fingers on those keys. "Fine," she sighed. It wasn't like they asked to sound good, after all. Just half-ass the mess and bury myself in the piano after, Robin figured. "But if I'm conducting this, you do what I say." Lissa squealed, pulling Robin into a hug.

* * *

Fiddling with her locker, Robin sighed as the first bell rang. With a dark glare, she kicked the devil thing, but all it earned her was a sore toe. "Need help?" Spinning around, Robin found herself staring into a smiling, vaguely familiar face. It was a boy from yesterday, Robin decided, tall, lanky, easy smile. As he pushed some olive hair out of his eyes, Robin had a horrible suspicion the boy wanted to befriend her. "Stahl, by the way. In case you forgot. Robin, right?" His gentle eyes looked from Robin to the locked door in front of her, and Robin stepped a little further from the locker. Robert must be using this boy to snoop on her. "Seriously, do you need help?"

Stahl was just barely tall enough for Robin to have to tilt her head slightly to meet his gaze. "Thank you, but I'm fine," she snapped. As she had told Robert, yet again, last night, she wasn't interested in meeting his friends. Hopefully, this boy could catch a hint. Before Stahl could respond, Robin strode around him towards biology. After a few beats, Stahl caught up with her, trailing behind the girl. Twirling around, Robin came to a halt outside her classroom. Stahl nearly stumbled into her. "Why don't you stop following me, and just go to class. Whatever Robert may have told you, I don't want to be your friend."

Stahl held up his hands, long fingers splayed out. "Hey, that's what I'm trying to do. You're kinda standing in the doorway." Blushing, Robin found a stool in biology, and Stahl sat next to her. Instead of starting conversation, Stahl seemed content to sit in silence. Casting a sidelong glance it him, Robin found him absorbed in a muffin. A tactic to sweat her out, or simply a statement that she was, in fact, less interesting than a blueberry muffin? If the boy was going to insist on sitting next to her, he needed to acknowledge her. Nothing was more awkward than sitting next to an unacknowledged acquaintance.

"Sorry," Robin mumbled. She caved first. Definitely not because she had snapped at him to begin with. Stahl gave her a fleeting glance before pulling off another large muffin crumb. Robin supposed it was a sign to continue. "I'm just a little used to Robert meddling."

Stahl shook his head. "No worries. I think everyone's been on the receiving end of Robert's doting at least once." The boy's crinkly smile was like Robert's, one that turned his eyes and mouth into scrunched crescents. "He devoted an entire semester last year to keeping me awake during our third period. I was so shell-shocked by the end that I had to sleep through fourth entirely to make up for it."

Robin chewed on her lip as Stahl began to flip through his notebook. It seemed he wasn't a bad person. At least one content enough to leave their social situation precisely as it was, and Robin didn't want friends. "May I… get the biology notes from you?"

"Only if you buy me dinner first." Robin blinked, as Stahl met her gaze with an utterly straight face. Then he broken in to a chuckle. "You just said it so seriously. Lighten up. I won't bite." Blushing under his laugh, Robin took the proffered notebook. It appeared her initial assumption was correct. Stahl wanted to be her friend.

* * *

After school, Robin strode into the music room to find her musicians milling about aimlessly. As she closed the door, Chrom and Robert approached her. From behind them, Stahl smiled and waved. "Okay. Tell us what to do," Chrom demanded, folding his bare arms over his chest. The other musicians looked to Robin expectantly.

"Well…" Robin trailed off. Well, I'd really just like to play the piano, she finished silently, but since I've been roped into this… "What have you guys been doing?"

"Usually, we get out our instruments and play through our pieces once or twice, but we were looking forward to any ideas you might have," Robert said. Lissa had snuck over again to bounce by Robert and Chrom's shoulders. Great. So not much, Robin surmised. Chrom, Lissa, and Robert seemed to be the leaders, and unless Chrom or Lissa had a musical background, Robin suspected the band was running off of Robert's three years of clarinet lessons. Not bad, but not good either.

Robin sighed as the three continued to watch her with hopeful eyes. "Last year I was in an academy for serious, classically trained young musicians. Not only was everyone experienced, the academy was solely for musicians. We had no sports teams and thus no pep bands. My training may not be appropriate for your goals." She crossed her arms and pursed her lips at the crestfallen faces in front of her. They couldn't be serious. A few more harsh words, and perhaps Robin could just have the music room to herself, no band involved.

Chrom frowned at the ground for a moment. Then he jerked his head up. Instead of acceptance, his firm jaw was set in a determined line. "Let's try your way and see what happens." As he spun around to the rest of the band, Robin groaned. "Alright everyone, let's get our instruments, some stands, and some chairs arranged. Warm up and be ready to play in five minutes."

They complied immediately. Robin made a mental note to ask Robert about this later, about Chrom's relationship to this group. At the moment, however, there was little to do but watch them set up. As unwilling as she was to admit, the group's teamwork was superb. They passed out chairs and stands in a neat assembly line, and soon the band was seated. In the center of their semi-circle was a music stand, Robin supposed intended to be the conductor's.

Robin stepped up to the stand. "First, I understand this is a small group, but it would be easier for me if you were seated in a more logical style." She looked to Stahl, the redhead sitting next to him, and the serious boy next to her. "Baritones, Stahl…" The boy light up almost immediately. She had remembered his name, Robin realized with a small curse. Robert would never let her hear the end of this, her sudden new-found friend. The redhead, with little patience as Robin recalled, raised an eyebrow. "Sully?" The redhead seemed appeased. "And…" On Sully's left, the serious boy sat even more stiffly. "Um…"

"Fredrick," he supplied gravely. Robin eyed his collared shirt and vest apprehensively. The boy himself seemed comfortable, but he was so well-built the vest strained across his chest with every inhale. A button was going to pop and blind someone someday.

Robin nodded. "Right. Stahl," The boy smiled at her again. "Sully, and Fredrick. You all may move to the back." The trio juggled their stands, baritones, and chairs to the newly made back row. "Chrom…" The trumpet player shifted in his seat. "Move to the back." Chrom followed the baritones' path to the back and arranged himself next to Fredrick, who gave him a smile so slight Robin almost missed it. "Drummer, I mean Vaike, you move, too." The blonde adjusted his snare drum in its harness and stomped next to Chrom. "Alright, flutes and clarinets stay where you are," Robin ordered. Lissa continued kicking her legs back and forth, as her fellow flutist, Maribelle, primly crossed hers. Resting his clarinet across his lap, Robert nodded at Robin. The short freshman next to him, Ricken, Robin amended mentally, started flipping through his music with concentration. "Mellophone… Sorry, Sumia, right?" The girl jerked up, knocking over her music stand in the process. "Actually, you can stay there." Sumia blushed sheepishly as Robert and Chrom helped collect her music. Robin turned towards the last musician, a trombonist who at her gaze winked at her. Apparently, her tongue-lashing after the trombonist had kissed her hand yesterday had little lasting effect on the flirt. "You can stay where you are, too, Virion," she ordered with warm cheeks. Robin surveyed the newly ordered group. "Now—"

"Wait! What about me?" Robin nearly jumped as a tuba player, rather tall, popped from behind Maribelle.

"I… I'm sorry, must not have seen you there," Robin said, an impressive oversight seeing as the boy was large in every dimension. And carrying an oversized shiny instrument besides. "You're new, I suppose. I'm Robin. Nice to meet you."

"Actually, I met you yesterday." The boy scuffed at his shoes as Robin tried to place his face. It was incredibly ordinary. So incredibly ordinary it was like saying a word over and over until you weren't quite sure it even was a word. This was a face she knew, but it just kept slipping her grasp. "S'okay. Everyone does it. I'm Kellam. Should I move to the back, too?"

Robin frowned. "Well, I'll remember you. Go on and sit in the back." Wait. I'll remember you? This is a get in, get out operation, Robin reminded herself. Not here to make friends. Making friends meant Robert and Mother were right, that Robin needed more than music. Which she didn't. Robin amended her mental band member list to twelve anyways.

* * *

The next day found Robin at her locker, struggling with the lock, as Robert covered a small smile. "You sure you don't need help?"

"Why does everyone ask me that?" Robin huffed. "I can open a locker just fine."

"Your music school didn't have them, though, so how do you know?" Robert pointed out.

"Whatever. I don't need to use it now anyways," Robin stood up abruptly and heaved her bag over her shoulder with a small grunt. "I'm going to the music room."

"Oh, no you're not," Robert grabbed Robin by the wrist and tugged her after him. "Today you're hanging with my friends before class."

Robin scowled. "I have yet to play that piano."

"Well, it's not going anywhere," Robert joked. Pulling Robin out into a small courtyard, Robert led her towards a large oak tree. Chrom leaned against the trunk as the blonde, Vaike, Robin reminded herself, chatted with him animatedly. Lissa, Maribelle, and Fredrick held their own conversation nearby. Noticing the twins, a beaming Lissa jumped up and down, waving at them.

"Heeeeey!" Lissa's chipper voice pierced through the early morning courtyard fog. A few other students turned towards her, but Lissa ignored their stares. She bounded up to Robin and Robert and looped an arm through Robin's own. "I knew Robert would get you here eventually. Come chat with everyone." Before Robin could respond, Lissa dragged the girl towards the group.

"Morning." Chrom nodded at Robin, then at Robert. Robin ignored Chrom's poorly hidden grin as she wrenched her arm from his sister's grasp. He mouthed something that looked like 'Strong grip.' Ignoring that too, along with the sympathetic headshake, Robin scowled at all of them. "Vaike and I were just talking about the freshmen on the cross country team. You run, Robin?"

Chrom was either extremely dense, socially unaware, or very friendly, and Robin was suspicious it was a combination of the three. Perhaps if she was cold enough, the boy would leave her alone. Crossing her arms over her chest, Robin shook her head. "Sports aren't really my thing."

Vaike grabbed Robin's arm and held it up. "I coulda told you that, Chrom. Look at her… and her brother for that matter." As Robert tugged on his hair sheepishly, Vaike shook Robin's arm. What little extra fat she had jiggled in indignation. "Sticks, the both of them." Robin snatched her arm from Vaike with a glare. Just because he resembled a blonde ox didn't mean the world should be formed entirely of blue-haired gods and Norse myths. "Don't frown at me. Eat more meat or something."

Robert drifted off to talk with Lissa, leaving Robin with Vaike and Chrom. The conversation died off. Chrom seemed content to watch the greyish clouds float by. Vaike scowled at the ground, hands thrust in his cargo shorts. Kicking a patch of grass and dirt, Robin nearly flinched as Chrom piped up with, "We aren't the only ones who run cross-country. Sully and Sumia do, too."

Vaike clapped a hand on Chrom's shoulder. "This guy is co-captain of the team with one of the juniors." Chrom studied the ground, a light blush decorating his cheeks. "He doesn't like to brag about it. Not only that, but during track season, Chrom and I are locked in deadly combat for fastest hundred meter dash. Pretty good for sophomores, eh?" Vaike stuck his hands on his hips and puffed his chest out a little. He looked to Robin.

"Uhhh… congrats?"

"That's right. You ever need a helping hand getting into shape, just give ol' Teach a call." Vaike grinned and flexed a little. Robin studied her thin, pale arms, fairly certain she had never been able to flex, ever.

"You look fine," Chrom cut in. "Girls don't need to be buff, anyways." Robin broke away from her reverie to look to Chrom. At her gaze, his face turned a little pink once more. "Not that guys need to be buff. Or girls can't be buff," he stammered. "You would look weird muscular anyways. Or, it could be fine. I'm sure you would look great with muscles. But you don't need muscles." Chrom seemed even more flustered than when he began. Weren't ridiculously handsome people supposed to be suave? Vaike was frowning at him.

"Teach doesn't quite know where you're goin' with this, Chrom," Vaike grunted. The first bell rang.

"I-I'm going to homeroom." Chrom rushed off, face very red. Vaike shrugged and ambled off in another direction, with a wave to Robin. Gods, what had she gotten herself into?

* * *

**Well, whaddya think? Feel free to comment. While I have some pairings decided, others aren't, so pairing suggestions are welcome!  
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**See ya around!**


	2. Sumia - Dedication

**Author's note. Skip if it doesn't strike your fancy.**

**Shout out to my reviewers! Thanks so much! I appreciate all of it.**

**Random Chicky: Thanks!**

**Mattariago: Robert is indeed M!Robin, and his part will definitely grow as the story continues. Also, TharjaxM!Robin is adorable, because Tharja is adorable (creepy stalker tendencies aside).**

**Cormag Ravenstaff: Fellow band geek says hi! Anna and Gaius are both going to exist, and I'm very excited for their introduction... Why don't you have more supports, Anna? Whyyyyy?**

**Further shout out to my shiny new followers: Mattariago, Germany'sFrau, and Cormag Ravenstaff!**

**Now to writing stuff. I'll try to update once a week. This update is fast because it's the weekend... Also, from here on out, each chapter is going to be more character-centric. Not that the others are going to be ignored, just that one is going to be focused on.**

**Edited 11/25/2014  
**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Homeroom was one long lecture on the PSAT. Robin may or may not have spent the ten minutes watching Robert doodle next to her. At the bell for first period, her twin brother hovered by Robin's shoulder, playing with his hair once again. "Don't you have a class to go to? Mine's right here."

"Yeah, but…" Robert drummed his knuckles against the table as biology students began milling in. "Just, thanks for conducting our band. We could really use your help." Robin snorted. The band needed a lot more than her help. It was a small disaster. "Also… well, you should lighten up on Mom a little." Robin's eyes shot from Robert's hand to his face, and her mouth sunk into a scowl. His face was filled with genuine concern, of course. Less than a week back, Robert was already lecturing her. Ever the mother hen. Mother herself, however, much like every other aspect of her life her brother snooped in, wasn't his business. As she began to reply, Robert scrambled out of the room.

Stahl dropped his bag on the table with a hard plunk and a soft smile. Even more rumpled than yesterday, his olive hair stuck out at odd angles. He must have slept through homeroom, Robin decided. Not that it mattered. "Morning."

"You don't have to sit next to me," Robin said. Her harsh tone cut through the sleepy classroom haze, and the students shuffling in cast her glances. Unfazed, Stalh collapsed on the stool next to hers with a large yawn. Whatever Robert was using to motivate this boy to befriend her, it must be something powerful. Usually a few icy words were enough to alienate classmates, friends, family. Her mother.

"Actually, you have my class notes. I need those back," he replied, smile warm despite her cool. As Robin dug through her bag for his notes, Stahl glanced towards the door. Looking for Robert perhaps, Robin wondered. "Not a morning person?"

"Not a questions person. Here are your notes." Robin slid a small stack of papers towards Stahl. The boy crammed them back into his bag, unperturbed by the crinkle of wrinkling paper.

"Thanks." He was still rifling through his bag for something, but in its state, overflowing with loose sheets of paper and random trash, his search was taking longer than Robin was sure it should have. An apple rolled out from the mess, and Stahl simply shrugged.

"You ever heard of this little thing called organization?" It spilled out before she could stop it. Fiddling with her pen, Robin cast Stahl a sidelong look. His hair obscured most of his face, but his light smile peeked through some strands. Deepening her frown, Robin ignored the blush blooming in her cheeks. "What?"

"Nothing," he replied. As he brushed some hair out of his eyes, Robin could see them crinkled into crescents again at his smile. "You're just funny, is all."

"I… What?"

Still grinning, Stahl shook his head. "Never mind." He pulled a bagel out of his bag. "Want half?"

* * *

As Robin determined yesterday, the band members proved to have varied experience with their instruments. Robert, who Robin knew had taken music lessons in middle school, and, more surprisingly, Virion were the best players in the group. Most of the musicians knew their basic scales, and a smattering had good intonation besides. However, there were a few amateurs. Well, Robin amended, there was one very definite amateur. On a rather bad note, Robin cut the group off. "Let's take a break." The group relaxed a little, and some struck up small conversations. Sidling around her stand, Robin halted in front of the offending player. "Sumia," she said, resting a hand on the girl's music stand. Sumia looked up from the sheet music she had been studying to meet Robin's eyes. After a moment the brunette looked away with a grimace.

"I goofed up again, didn't I?" Fiddling with the hems of her sleeves, Sumia set her mellophone to the side. Everything about the girl was soft, her delicate voice, her carefully curled hair, the purple cardigan pulled over her faded denim shorts. This was probably a girl who cried.

Robin chewed her lip. More than a few curious glances were being cast in their direction. Robin didn't want to be responsible for the mess that could stem from her public embarrassment. "Let's talk outside for a sec." Robin strode out of the room as Sumia fumbled after her. Turning into the hall, Robin shut the door behind them. Sumia, despite her taller stature, seemed to take up less space, all folded in upon herself. "I'll be blunt. I'm not entirely sure why you're here."

"To play music," Sumia replied, a hint of misery in her voice, eyes on the floor. In the empty hallway, the girl's voice sounded even more piteous.

"Look me in the face when you say that," Robin commanded. "Be serious or go home. I'm not here to coddle Robert's friends. If you can't pull your weight, then I have better things I could be doing."

Sumia snapped her eyes upward. Robin was relieved to see that they were dry. Crying people were never her forte. "I'm sorry. I want to play music. I want to be helpful," Sumia replied again. As she spoke, the girl straightened, hands at her sides balled into fists. Her confidence shown in her mouth, a firm line.

"Mellophone is a marching specific instrument. What did you play before this? Perhaps the two are relatable?" Robin asked. Once again, Sumia shrunk in upon herself. While the girl was pretty in an unassuming way, her frown marred her smooth skin with a wrinkled forehead. "Well? I don't have all day."

"Nothing. I taught myself how to read music last week," Sumia mumbled. Well. That added an entirely new bottom level to the mental skill tier Robin kept of the band. And also explained why every note the brunette played was a wrong one. "I'll try harder. I promise."

"Don't try harder. Practice more," Robin said, ignoring the girl's cringe. "If you want to be here, prove it. And stop cowering. Confidence." Turning on her heel, Robin left Sumia in the hall. Gesturing the band to attention, Robin tossed a glance to the door. Sumia never reentered. For the best, then, Robin decided. After all, her only goal was to get through these practices, not reshape the musicians in it. Her stomach felt a little cold anyways. At the end of their session, Robin watched Sully pack Sumia's mellophone and music away.

"I'll get these to her. No sweat," Sully promised. "We have track tomorrow bright and early." With Sumia's mellophone in one hand and her own baritone in the other, Sully faced Robin. The redhead leaned in enough that Robin could see the definition in her-mildly intimidating-muscles. "I know she's a klutz, but Sumia's a good kid. You make her cry, I make you cry." Something about Sully's statement made Robin antsy, and it wasn't the veiled threat of violence. Ignoring Robert's queries about the brunette, Robin picked conversation topics far from music for their walk home.

* * *

It was too early for conversation, and as Robert lectured on, his voice was little more than a buzz. A rather annoying buzz. "You know, we don't ever judge your life choices. Why did we give that a try today?" She bent outside her locker, fiddling with the lock yet again. Robert stood at her side, a disapproving frown clouding his usually cheery features. "I think they gave me the locker from Hell," Robin added darkly. While scowling at the door did nothing to help it open, it did leave Robin a feeling of satisfaction.

"Well, I think you should talk to Mom. Believe it or not, she didn't pull you out of that music academy to spite you and—"

"You've told me this a good twenty times now, Robert." Aware her voice was rising and that the boy who perpetually lurked near her locker was waiting for gossip, Robin dragged her brother further down the hall. She quieted down to a whisper. "Blah, blah, blah, Mom loves you very much, and blah, blah, blah, by the way, Dad was a jerk, and you just didn't notice because you weren't home last year. While we're on the topic, the divorce will work out better for everyone anyways," she hissed. Robert watched the floor with hooded eyes. "I miss anything? Anything else you want to make sure the guy next to my locker can eavesdrop on?"

"Only the bit where you should stop lashing out at everything in sight," he retorted. Robert glared at Robin's locker loiterer. "There's no band after class today, but I have to stay after for chess. Do whatever you want." Stalking off, Robert threw Robin a sulky wave.

"I'm playing piano after class. Screw you, too, Robert," she called after him. Perhaps she was being childish, and perhaps she didn't really care.

* * *

The school day felt like an eternity. In his endless carefree mood, Stahl had first jabbered on through ten minutes of biology and then slept through the other hour and some change, earning himself detention from a rather frosty Ms. Miriel. Naturally, today was also the day Robin recognized Sumia in her English class. As it dawned on Robin just who the brunette in the front of the class was, she cursed her luck silently. Noting Sumia's unusual proficiency in literature, Robin kept her head down for the rest of class. Last thing she needed was a potentially bitter girl to deal with. The hours dragged on. When the bell finally rang at the end of fourth, Robin leapt out of her seat and tore to the music room.

At last, the music room was empty. Tossing her bag to the side, Robin pulled out the piano stool and sat there. It was nostalgic, comforting. Even a week was a long time to go without touching the delicate keys. Gingerly, Robin lifted the piano cover and ran her fingers across the ivories. With a contented sigh, Robin began to run through some scales and then the piece she had been working on before she left Plegian Music Academy, a Schumann piano concerto. There was just something so soothing in the piano. For all her mother's worries, Robin could never see how Dad pushing her to work even harder at it was unhealthy. A sudden crash startled the girl from her concentration.

"I- Oooo, sorry," Sumia sat up from her face plant on the floor, rubbing her forehead. Scrambling to collect her bag and mellophone case, the brunette grimaced. "It was just so pretty sounding, I forgot to pay attention to everything else. Sorry. I'm a bumbling buffoon," Sumia mumbled.

A large red welt was beginning to grow on the brunette's forehead, and Robin felt irrationally guilty. Sumia wasn't that distracted over yesterday, right? "I... It's not your fault. I probably shouldn't have left my backpack in the middle of the floor." While gathering up her bookbag, Robin hesitated. After reprimanding Sumia the other day, Robin was unsure where she stood with the girl. Not that it mattered anyways, she reminded herself. Her goal was to improve as a musician, and she couldn't do that if she had to waste her time with Robert's band. "You know we don't have practice today, right? You can go do whatever you do in your free time today," Robin said.

"I know that." Sumia pulled out a chair and a stand. "Can I practice in here, or would you rather I practice in the hall?" Sumia frowned, but with determination. Robin felt something in her soften.

With a little shrug, the girl returned to the piano. "You don't make small talk, right? If I won't distract you, you won't distract me."

* * *

"You're in a good mood this morning," Stahl chirped, offering Robin half a blueberry muffin. "Your weekend was especially charming, I take it?"

"Shut it," she grumbled. "And take your muffin elsewhere." Robert was ignoring her. Robin may have avoided her mother all weekend, and Robert may have been slightly bitter about it. Not that it mattered, because it didn't, but the quiet on the walk to school left Robin nothing to do but wallow in her own thoughts. That inevitably led to Sumia, who was starting to make Robin feel slightly guilty. The brunette had practiced in the music room as Robin practiced both Thursday and Friday for a few hours, and her dedication to the mellophone was starting to become undeniable. Meaning Robin may have judged her a little hastily.

"You owe me for the half a bagel I gave you last week. Now you have to take half of this muffin," Stahl replied sweetly. Robin, absorbed in her own thoughts, snapped her eyes to him with a glare. He placed the muffin on Robin's notebook. Moist crumbs now peppered the cover.

"That doesn't even make sense. I'm not eating this." Robin crossed her arms and scowled at the olive haired boy. "You know, I had rather optimistically assumed the one good thing to come from this weekend would be the waning of your interest in me." Yet here he sat, Robin puzzled, messy hair, messy t-shirt, messy bag, distinctly ordinary, but willing to put up with her crap.

"So your weekend was crummy," Stahl exclaimed triumphantly. Rolling her eyes, Robin let out the start of a breathy laugh before clamping her mouth shut. Stahl looked delighted at the result.

Robin popped a piece of muffin in her mouth. "I was about to apologize for my rudeness a moment ago, but I think I retract my unspoken apology."

However, it was much too late, and Stahl was already grinning. "I'll learn to read you yet, Robin. I may be ordinary in everything else, but I do understand people."

Chewing on the muffin, Robin scratched at the table with her pen. "What do you think of Sumia, then?" At Stahl's curious gaze, Robin hastily amended her statement. "As a friend, or rather as a musician, perhaps? For purely professional reasons of course."

"Oh, of course." The boy ruffled a hand through his hair. "Well, she's got determination, that's for sure. I think Sumia wants to do well. Just give her a sec to catch up with the rest of us." Ms. Miriel took her position at the front of the room, and Robin's and Stahl's conversation quieted. As Ms. Miriel started the lecture, Stahl leaned over and whispered, "If you're worried about your people skills, slow down and just observe now and then." Robin flinched at his words, warm against her ear. People didn't get close to her. Ever. Oblivious, Stahl looked back to the chalk board.

* * *

When Robin walked into the music room, Sully and Chrom were hovering over Sumia, coaching her on various musical things. Shooting Robin a warning look, Sully meandered to her seat between Stahl and Frederick. Chrom sat down behind Sumia and continued to instruct the girl quietly. As Robin took her place, Robert ceased his conversation with Lissa to study the the wall somewhere beyond Robin's shoulder. Yep. Not upset about her ignoring Mother at all. More heartening, Robin could hear massive improvement in Sumia's musical technique from a weekend of practice.

While Robin packed up her scores after class, she could sense Sumia and Chrom hovering nearby. If they were trying to be discrete, it wasn't working. Robin could feel Sumia's eager gaze burning holes into her side, and Chrom's continuous fidgeting kept distracting her organizing. "Yes?"

Sumia backed into Chrom with a squeak. "I-I-I-"

"Hey." Steadying the girl with his hands on her shoulders, Chrom gave her a quick smile. "You had something you wanted to ask, right?"

Sumia looked to him with a light flush. Young love. Great. Rolling her eyes, Robin returned to her scores. Well, they suited each other at least. Together they looked like a pair of magazine models. If the male model came with an extreme abhorrence for sleeves. Packing the last of the scores into her bag, Robin settled it on her back. "Well. I'm done here, so-"

"Wait." Twiddling with the sleeve of today's cardigan-buttery yellow-, Sumia stumbled forward. "I-I... I wanted to ask you... if it wasn't too much trouble... how I was doing? Maybe?"

"You've improved quite quickly," Robin remarked. Sumia brightened instantly, lighting up her entire face and bringing a radiant color to her cheeks. Robin could feel herself flustering for the girl. It was such a simple statement, but the brunette was treating it like the highest praise. "I'm just being honest so... don't..." Unsure what Sumia was even doing exactly, Robin waved her hands around.

With a little giggle, Sumia nodded. "Right. I'm going to try real hard. Just wait and see! Soon I won't be the one to pull everyone down."

Chrom smiled after her as Sumia skipped away. "You need something, too? Can I actually leave now?"

"It's good that you're helping Sumia," he said. "I know the band is a little rough now, but even your presence inspires everyone. If you and I do a good job leading them, I think everything will shape up well." Chrom's blind faith in in the band, them, her, shown in his eyes. The puppy dog look was oddly charming with his masculine features. Of course, Chrom didn't know Robin was only here for the piano. Suddenly rather uncomfortable, Robin wanted nothing more than to be somewhere else.

* * *

Thursday afternoon, Robin walked in on Sumia practicing. At the click of the door closing, Sumia looked up with a grin. "If I won't distract you, you won't distract me, right?" she chirped, flashing another finger-wiggling wave. "No small talk."

Robin spared the brunette a glance. That was a mistake. Sumia's face was filled with the same belief as Chrom's, two parts expectation, one part hope. Also known as instant guilt cocktail. A little support... that wouldn't hurt, right? Robert would never even need to know. "Actually, I was thinking I would distract you today." At Sumia's confused expression, Robin added, "Productive distraction. Like as in I'll give you lessons." Robin placed her seat next to Sumia's and studied over the girl's music. "Look. Just... I can play trumpet, okay? Which is close fingering-wise, so it's not that ridiculous for me to offer. Besides, if I help you now, I don't have to waste time in band on it later." She could feel Sumia's smile. "Don't-don't do that. Stop grinning. I'm forcing you to accept my assistance. You should be finding this a hindrance. Now, what are you doing?"

"Well," Sumia shuffled through some music. "Chrom gave me this…"

It wasn't until the Robin looked up from the stand and noticed the band room was unusually orange, that she realized she and Sumia had been practicing for hours. "That's enough." Flinching, Sumia lowered her mellophone. "Nothing's wrong," Robin said. "But if I don't leave now, I'll be late for dinner. Robert'll kill me when I get home late, and Mother will again when she gets back from work." Sumia's smile wrinkled her nose into a button. "It... sounded good. Today. Your playing."

"Thanks."

They packed away their things in silence. A silence that could probably be described as comfortable, if Robin didn't have an overpowering urge to say something. Anything. "So how long have you and Chrom been dating?"

Sumia scattered the music she was collecting. "Eeeeeeh?"

"Oh, gods. You're not?" Robin wished nothing more than to melt into the floor. This was what happened when you broke your own rule on small talk. Her face was burning, and Sumia was gaping at her, sheet music lying forgotten on the floor. "You're not. Well. I… You talk about him an awful lot." Robin began to collect some of Sumia's papers. "And you two had a bit of the power couple vibe going on yesterday." Staring at Sumia's now empty music stand, Robin shoved the music she collected in a fist at the brunette. Feeling irrationally defensive, she added, "It's only natural people would misunderstand."

Gently, Sumia pried the music from Robin's grasp. "Well, you weren't too far off." Sumia's face flushed. "You just may have been off about the part where I loved him, is all." The girls began putting away their chairs and music stand. "I admire him."

"There's a difference?"

Sumia frowned at her. "Of course. Anyways, he's always so confident, and athletic, and smart, and charismatic—"

"Doesn't seem too smart or charismatic to me," Robin added, recalling his bumbling comments to her on athleticism a week ago. Heaving her bag over her shoulder, Robin meandered towards the door.

Sumia frowned again. Gathering together her instrument and cutesy, floral messenger bag, Sumia followed after Robin. "Well… he is. Everyone admires him, not just me. Anyways, Sully told me Chrom was starting this pep band, and he was looking for members. And I guess part of me just hoped if I was near him, somehow… I…" Sumia closed her eyes and sighed. The two girls made their way down the stairs to the main lobby. "Ohhh, I don't even know now," Sumia wailed, her voice echoing in the staircase.

"That sounds…" Robin was at a loss for words, torn between being blunt or attempting some sort of understanding.

"See, you don't get it. You're smart and pretty and really good at music and you can play five bajillion instruments—"

"I'm crummy at people," Robin declared. Sumia fell silent, but Robin was sure she saw the girl's lips turn up a little. "You just witnessed how poor my people skills are. In fact, you've been victim to my people skills a few times now. So..." Robin chewed on her lip and quickly added, "Anyways, you don't need to be like Chrom. For one, I think if nothing else your work ethic is admirable."

"Thanks."

The two girls stood outside the school. Feeling the compelled to both leave and stay, Robin abruptly began to stride down the first few steps. With yet another finger-wiggly wave, Sumia called after her, "See you in English tomorrow?"

"Ahhhh..." It wouldn't be too bad, having one acquaintance, right? Robin could have one without betraying her loyalty to Plegian. "Yeah. I guess so." Sumia broke into another dazzling smile.

* * *

The next morning, Robert broke the twin's silence with a light, "Chrom told me you've been helping Sumia."

"Mmhmm." Was it odd to miss Robert's prying? Because a little part of her did, somehow.

"How's that going?" His voice was filled with poorly faked nonchalance, and Robin resisted the urge to grin.

* * *

**Sumia is adorable. And super deadly. But also adorable.**

**Anyways, please do review! As before, all advice and pairing requests (no promises on the pairings, though) are welcome! **


	3. Lon'qu - Tall, Dark, and Handsome

**Author's Note. Skip it if it doesn't strike your fancy.**

**Shout out to my reviewers! Thank ye kindly!**

**Gunlord500: Thanks!**

**Random Chicky: Poor Sumia really doesn't have enough in game supports... There may be some deviation from canon for her romance... and maybe one or two others.  
**

**Cormag Ravenstaff: Don't worry! I have very specific plans for Gaius in a chapter or two. He and Anna are two of my favorite characters, so I want their debuts to be juuuuuust so.**

**A Shadow's Lament: Thanks so much for the detailed review! I'm glad you're enjoying my fanfic!**

**Also a big thank you to my new followers: Alyss Requiem and SHMRAHHHH**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

After practice on Monday, Chrom approached Robin as the rest of the band packed up. "How do we sound?" he asked, leaning on the conductor's stand Robin had yet to put away.

Folding her arms across her chest, Robin thought for a moment. "Well, we have improved over the past two weeks." Sumia, in particular, she added mentally. The brunette had put in a lot of effort and her sound quality and technique reflected that. As Sumia waved to Robin on her way out, Robin nodded at the girl. Looking back to Chrom, she found him watching Sumia leave. "Is there something in particular you're looking for?"

Collecting up Robin's scores for her, Chrom held them out to the girl. "I was thinking we should play for the women's soccer team next Friday," he answered, all steel and optimism.

"And I was thinking we should really turn this thing Survivor style and vote a musician off the island each week. Good thing I didn't suggest that," she replied. Ignoring her comment, Chrom lifted Robin's backpack over his shoulder and slowly made his way towards the door. "Hey! Give me my bag!"

"I was going to, but this thing weighs like a sack of rocks. I can't let a girl carry that." Robin's subsequent eye roll was ineffective on Chrom's back. "Anyways, you said we sounded better." Chrom held the door for Robin and for Robert, who trailed after the pair, chatting animatedly with Lissa. "I was thinking we should start performing."

Robin chewed on her lip. It wasn't that the band sounded bad. In fact for a group of hobbyists, their technique and sound quality was decent. "It's more an issue of numbers than skill." Robin waited for Chrom's objection, but he seemed to be waiting for her elaboration. "Our instrumentation is unbalanced. With three baritones and the tuba, every week I have to struggle with quieting them down, while coaxing the woodwinds to play louder."

"I'm playing really loudly," Lissa piped up suddenly, "Just ask Maribelle."

Glancing over her shoulder, Robin caught the similarities between Lissa and her brother's determined faces. "I never said you weren't." She turned back towards Chrom, still carrying both their bags, his light jacket slung over one shoulder. "Anyways, first there's that. We could really use more woodwinds. Specifically, though, there are parts we haven't even covered yet. I don't feel comfortable playing publicly until we at least get a saxophone player, preferably a larger percussion section, too."

The four of them had reached the door. Robert and Lissa were watching Robin and Chrom, waiting. Shrugging Robin's bag off his shoulder, Chrom returned it to the girl. She grabbed it and as Chrom released his hold almost fell forward with the sudden weight. Eying Chrom's toned arms enviously, Robin adjusted the backpack on her shoulders. "If I find a saxophone player," Chrom locked eyes with Robin, "will you conduct us next Friday?"

There was contention in his voice. Robin was aware of it and ignored the knowledge he was egging her on. "If he's good, fine." At Chrom's victorious grin, Robin added, "But he had better be good, and my standards are going to be high."

"I trust you to judge fairly," Chrom replied, making his way with Lissa down the steps. "Of course, I also trust you'll be ready to conduct us next Friday." With a lazy wave and a cocky smile, Chrom rounded a corner, Lissa skipping behind him.

* * *

Before practice the next day, Robin found Chrom once again leaning against her stand, this time with a dark-haired boy in tow. Eying the boy's instrument case, Robin quirked an eyebrow at Chrom. "He any good?"

Chrom nodded at the student, who seemed intent on looking anywhere but at Robin. "Well, Lon'qu, you tell her," Chrom ordered.

"… I'm good," Lon'qu told Robin's feet, in a deep voice. Before Robin could address his irritating lack of eye contact, Lon'qu wandered off to find a chair and stand. Chrom's lips twitched.

"I'm Robin. Nice to meet you, too," she called after him, before turning to Chrom. "Laugh and you're dead," Robin snarled. Chrom made his way to his seat without a comment, lips still twitching suspiciously. With a chair and stand, Lon'qu began to set his instrument up near Vaike. Before the boy could finish, Robin halted him. "Hang on, saxo—Lon'qu. I want you up here." The boy froze. Robin contemplated her set up for a moment. "If we were larger, I'd put you behind the flutes," Robin mumbled more to herself than to the band, "But since we aren't, just sit at the beginning of the first row, next to Lissa." Vaike mouthed something at Lon'qu, who remained still at his side.

"…Fine." The boy muttered. With a smile, Lissa bounced up and waved at Lon'qu, who ignored her in his contemplation of the floor. Maneuvering through the band, Lon'qu placed his stand several feet away from Lissa. Robin could barely see the boy in her peripherals.

"You're going to have to sit closer to her than that," Robin ordered. "In fact, you should be sitting opposite Sumia." Sumia gave her finger-wiggly wave, as Lon'qu inched towards Lissa. Robin shot Chrom another glare, but the boy just shrugged. Finally, Lon'qu was in line with Sumia. Or his stand was, at least. The boy himself was so far over in his seat from Lissa that he was still out of line. Fed up with the matter, Robin decided not to press it.

Fortunately, Lon'qu was good, as he and Chrom had claimed. At the end of practice, Robin came up to the boy. "Here's the rest of the music we're planning on playing. Get comfortable with it," she told him. "It seems," she continued with a scowl at Chrom, "we have a performance next Friday."

Lon'qu gingerly took the music from Robin. "Move my seat," he muttered, casting a glance at Lissa.

Robin frowned. "If this is a personal matter, I need a good reason," she murmered. With a darting look to Lissa, Robin was relieved to see her deep in conversation with Maribelle. The past few weeks with Sumia had contained a little more emotional nonsense than Robin wanted to handle again. "If you really need to move, move next to Sumia." Robin hesitated. "Should we talk about this outside?"

"…No." Robin rolled her eyes. Sumia, Robert, and now Lon'qu… these people had no sense of privacy. "I…" Lon'qu smoothed his hands on his jeans. His eyes darted everywhere except to Robin. "I have a problem." His voice lowered, and Robin leaned closer to the boy, ignoring his cringe. "With women," he hissed.

* * *

Despite Robin's protests, Robert dragged his sister with him to the tree the next morning. "There's cross-country practice in the morning. You only have to deal with Lissa and Maribelle today." Robert threw his sister an unusually haggard glance, as he pushed open the door to the courtyard. "Lissa, really, she's—"

"Lon'qu hates me!" Lissa's wail attracted a few glances, but ignoring them, the girl bounced up to the twins. "Robert wouldn't say it last night, but I know it's true," she exclaimed with a pout. "Robiiiiiiiin, you would tell me if Lon'qu told you he hates me, right?"

Robin turned to her brother, only to find him retreating to Maribelle. The two looked a little desperate. "I could probably count the number of words Lon'qu has spoken to me on my fingers," she replied. His words were already a minor source of irritation. Rather than finishing off her AP Euro homework last night, Robin found herself debating whether or not to adjust the boy's seating. Said homework now had to be finished during lunch.

"And I bet two of those were…" Lissa paused, before screwing up her face and imitating Lon'qu's voice. "Lissa sucks… or something like that, right?" Before Robin could answer, Lissa pointed an accusing finger at Robin. "I know he asked for you to change his seat."

Yeah, Robin thought, he insisted on whispering right next to you. "Then you also heard him mention his issue with women," Robin pointed out.

"He probably meant me, specifically. No, he definitely meant me specifically." Lissa thought for a moment. "Are you going to change his seat?"

"I... No. At least, not unless you have an issue with it, too." The gym doors opened as Lissa formulated her reply. The two girls watched the cross country runners pour out. Chrom, Vaike, and Sully in animated conversation made their way to the tree, and Lissa pulled Robin to the tree as well.

* * *

"Lon'qu. Go."

Stahl thought for a moment, eyes to the ceiling, one hand to his chin in a grand thinking gesture. Today Robin had brought a doughnut to split with the boy. She picked at it slowly. "I should have known this delicious pastry held ulterior motives," he replied forlornly, taking a bite of the chocolate doughnut.

"Whatever. I owed you."

"Fortunately for you, I am a simple man and easily bribed. I have English with Lon'qu," Stahl said.

Robin raised an eyebrow. "An eloquent speaker, that one..."

Stahl chuckled. "He's… he doesn't mince words. Anyways, he seems dependable, hardworking, dedicated. He's just terrified of girls."

Robin sighed. Lon'qu was a good musician, a very good musician, in fact, better than most of the other players. "With his seating mess, he's giving me a headache, is what he's doing," Robin groaned, flopping on the desk. Quickly finishing off the doughnut as Ms. Miriel entered the room, Stahl gave the girl a curious expression before flipping open his notes.

* * *

As Robin walked into band practice, she yet again found Chrom leaning on her stand, Lon'qu hovering behind him. Dumping her bag on the ground, she looked to Chrom in resignation. "You want to tell them about our performance next Friday, or should I?"

"Actually, I need you to do something else first." Chrom glanced over his shoulder. "You, too, Lon'qu." Robin sighed as Lon'qu did. Flicking his eyes to hers, Lon'qu quickly looked away. "A small amount of paper work needs to be processed with our faculty advisor before you guys are officially members."

Robin scrunched her face up in exasperation. "This is practice. Can't it wait?" Lon'qu seemed to agree with her. Maybe.

"All you need to do is walk to the faculty room down the hall and fill out a form for the advisor. It's easy. While you guys are doing that, I'll tell everyone about next Friday." Before Robin could object further, Chrom started guiding Robin and Lon'qu out of the room. "Just ask for Gregor. Word of warning," he added, pushing the pair out the door, "he's foreign."

Outside the music room, Robin chewed on her lip for a moment while Lon'qu stared down the floor. "Checking for booby-traps or something? C'mon, let's go." Robin strode down the hall. Irked to find Lon'qu was not following after her, Robin spun on her heel. "What?"

"The faculty room is this way," Lon'qu replied, pointing down the opposite end of the hall. As Lon'qu trod in the right direction, Robin, with a blush and a scowl, caught up with him.

"I knew that," she declared.

"Heh. Not as smart as you want to appear, eh?" Several feet away from the boy, Robin barely heard him. In fact, she was slightly suspicious she had misheard him as, first, it sounded like he laughed and, second, he may have just teased her. However, Robin was unsure how to reply, and the two walked in silence.

When the pair entered the faculty room, a lone man was seated in one of the many squishy chairs, some sort of grading in hand. "Gregor, right?" Robin asked. Lon'qu hovered somewhere behind her.

The older man looked up from his work, glancing at the two before half-smiling. "Oho, Gregor is seeing Lon'qu with pretty girl for fencing, yes?" He hopped out of his chair with agility unusual for his large build.

"No," Lon'qu deadpanned, but Gregor was already inspecting Robin closely.

"Is skinny. But Lucina is being skinny and very good at fencing, so maybe girl is good," Gregor declared, circling Robin slowly.

Feeling like some prize animal, Robin threw the older man a glare. Either oblivious or uncaring, he continued his study. "Actually, I'm not here to join the fencing club, so—"

"Gregor teach no fencing club. Is fencing team, very good, very competitive." Gregor folded his arms across his chest. "Girl could be joining fencing team if very good."

"She's not," Lon'qu supplied.

While true, from Lon'qu's mouth this felt inexplicably offensive. However, Gregor began again before Robin could object. "Oi! Then why Lon'qu bring pretty girl here? Gregor is thinking he need team manager. Will girl make good team manager?"

"…Maybe," Lon'qu answered again. Gregor appeared mildly irritated, but for one so verbally expressive, his body language was more guarded. Caught in a conversation between two unreadable faces, Robin chewed her lip in irritation.

"Hey! I'm right here, you know," Robin piped up, elbowing her way in front of Lon'qu, who had somehow snuck in between Robin and the advisor. "Don't go holding this conversation without me. And—"

"Ohohoho, girl has spirit. Gregor like this one." Gregor looked from Lon'qu to Robin, half-grin returning. "How would pretty girl like to be being team manager for fencing? Girl be getting the water and the jerseys and helping setting the matches and doing more, of course."

"I'm not interested."

"Pretty girl sure? Lon'qu is good boy. Is easy on eyes, too." Somewhere behind her, Robin heard a suspiciously panicked shuffling but stood her ground between Lon'qu and Gregor. "Many girl probably be trying—"

"That's enough," Lon'qu barked, pushing Robin out of the way. His face was slightly pink, whether from Gregor's words or female contact, Robin was unsure. "God, I just touched your arm." Lon'qu stared at his hand in mild disgust.

"I'm probably bruising," Robin added, partly out of sarcasm, partly out of bitterness to Lon'qu's reaction, as she rubbed the arm in question. "Anyways." The girl turned back to Gregor's now very amused face. "We're here to join the pep band. There's some paperwork to fill out that you have."

"Well, pretty girl just be keeping in mind Gregor's words. Fencing is only happening on Wednesday nights." Gregor shuffled through some binders on a nearby bookcase. Handing a few of the papers to the pair, he added, "Lon'qu good at fencing. Also is tall, dark, and handsome. Ladies be liking these things, yes?" Robin quickly ducked her head down to start her paperwork, but not before noting Lon'qu's even redder face.

* * *

Leaving the faculty office an official pep band member, Robin flopped against one of the lockers. Lon'qu looked almost sympathetic. "That took longer than I thought," Robin moaned. "Let's get back to practice while there's still some time." Straightening up, she started back towards the band room. Lon'qu trailed after her.

"Are you actually bruising?" he asked abruptly, halfway between the two rooms.

"Huh?" It took Robin a second to remember what Lon'qu was referring to. "Oh, I was just kidding. I can check if you want though." Pushing up her short sleeve, Robin raised her eyebrows. Her upper arm was slightly purple in a few places, one for each of his fingers. "Huh. You have a vice-like grip."

"Sorry," Lon'qu muttered. "For, Gregor, too."

Robin rolled her eyes. "I can accept that if it makes you feel better, but neither of those are your fault." They had reached the door, and Robin's words hung there awkwardly.

Reentering the music room, Robin found Robert conducting the band. At the sound of the door closing, Robert turned to the two of them. "They're all yours, sister dearest," he sang, bowing to her and taking a seat. Quirking an eyebrow at her brother, Robin reclaimed her stand. Lon'qu took his seat next to Lissa, who gave him a light smile. Picking up where Robert left off, Robin resumed practice.

* * *

"Sooooo, tall, dark, and handsome, eh?" Sumia giggled, as Lon'qu left the music room.

"I'll have you know those were just given as three valid reasons to become fencing team manager," Robin replied dryly. Sumia helped the girl collect up her music scores, while Robert chatted with Chrom and Lissa. "You a member of his fan club, too?"

"Too?"

"Not as in 'in addition to me', more like 'in addition to others that don't include me'." Robin zipped up her backpack. "Why are we even talking about this?"

"All the other girls are. Even some of the guys," Sumia replied blithely. "I was just thinking we should get our requisite girl talk in."

The door opened, and Lon'qu reentered. "Well shut your requisite girl talk, then," Robin hissed, hoisting her bag over her shoulder. Lon'qu looked around the room, before starting towards his seat.

"I left my bag," he declared to the floor. Giving Lissa a wide berth, Lon'qu maneuvered around the now silent trio. At the girl's frown, Robin sighed internally. While the two had no necessity to get along, she had no wish to be confronted by a distressed Lissa again. Head down, Lon'qu snatched his bag off the ground. Something about his attempt to ignore everyone in the room irritated the girl.

"Not as smart as you wish to appear, eh?" Robin blurted it out without thinking. Mortified, she shut her mouth quickly. The remaining students stared at her in some mixture of shock and amusement, but Lon'qu's expression was unreadable.

"Heh." Nodding to Robin, Lon'qu made his way to the door. Sumia let out a very audible sigh of relief, as Chrom and Robert returned to their conversation. Lissa seemed to be contemplating something.

"Lon'qu, wait!" The boy halted, hand on the doorknob. Lissa fidgeted with the strap of her bag, rocking on her feet from heel to toe. "Ahhaha… bye?" she squeaked.

"…Bye."

As soon as the Lon'qu left, Lissa fist pumped gleefully. The girl giggled as Robert and Chrom watched her antics with amusement. Wiggling her eyebrows at Robin, Sumia whispered, "I'd move fast. It looks like..." She paused before continuing with added flair "…drama." Thinking for a moment, Sumia added, "Girls talk about that too, right? Boys, drama… and something else. Other boys, maybe?"

"Shoes. I think the last one might be shoes."

"Mmmm, I do love—"

"Food? Are we talking about food?" Stahl piped up from somewhere behind Robin. The girl spun around, heart beating rather quickly, as Sumia wiggled her fingers at the Stahl. With a hand tangled in his olive hair, he looked down at Robin. "I am a rather big fan of pies, in case… you know," Stahl said hopefully.

"No, I don't. You nearly gave me a heart attack with your shouting. Go away," Robin snapped at Stahl's bemused face.

The boy put his hands up in surrender, inching back towards a scruffy backpack. "I just need to get my bag," Stahl said, as he slowly bent down to pick up his battered bookbag.

"Don't you dare," Robin hissed to Sumia, who looked like she was contemplating eyebrow wiggling once again. Adjusting her own bag on her shoulders, Robin turned back to the door. "Well, let's get out of here," she called to the remaining band members. The six musicians meandered out of the school, absorbed in friendly conversation.

* * *

**I wanted this chapter to go one way, and then Lon'qu and Robin wouldn't talk to each other, sulky little direct babies they are, so it went another way entirely... Oh, well, I think I like it like this. Lon'qu is an in-game cutie pie.**

**Anyways, there is one small aspect I'm unsure of... Who should become fencing team manager? All of the playable characters exist in my AU universe, but I'm not sure who to make team manager. Suggestions? Per usual, I'm also open to pairing suggestion (with the caveat of maaaaaybe) as well.**

**Review... or follow... or favorite! I appreciate all of it.**


	4. Gaius - The Sweetheart

****Author's Note. Skip it if it doesn't strike your fancy.****

**To my beautiful reviewers,**

**Mattariago: Sooooon, Tharja is soon. She's got a little bit of back story with an introduced and yet to be introduced character, so her debut is a little fixed. But coming up. Veeery quickly. Also, Henry x Olivia. I've never actually done that pairing, mostly because I like Inigo with dark hair. I'll have to look up their support. :P**

**Cormag Ravenstaff: Guess who debuts this chapter! Well, half the dynamic duo, but still.**

**Random Chicky: Oh, Lissa... And Kjelle will make an awesome team manager. Hadn't even thought of her!**

**Thank you to my lovely new follower JasonScout!**

**One last little thing. To anyone looking for more FE:A AU's, which I am obviously a fan of, check out Mattariago's Ylissean Police Department! It's a bit darker than this, but I love what the author is doing with it.**

**Anyone else who has an FE:A AU, I'd love to hear about it. AU writers unite!**

* * *

Chewing on her lip, Robin pulled Robert aside before practice on Monday. "I…" Robert smiled lightly with a mixture of encouragement and confusion. "It's like this…" Maribelle skirted around the pair delicately, eyebrow raised in polite disdain. Robin and her brother were close to completely blocking the band room doorway, and Lissa and Chrom were watching them curiously. "Let's talk about this outside." She turned to the door and found herself facing Gregor, rather than an empty doorway. Turning back around, Robin scowled. "Later," she hissed to her brother.

"Gregor is hearing the whispering and seeing the frowning," the middle-aged man boomed. "Is very sad girl not happy to see Gregor. Gregor come with gift." At Robin's pursed lips, Gregor dragged an orange haired boy from the hall to the music room. "He skips Gregor's class too many times, so Gregor gives him choice." The boy surveyed the room with an air of self-assurance, before unwrapping a lollypop with a twirl and popping in his mouth. "Boy can be fencing or be playing little music thing. Boy pick fencing. Very bad at the fencing." Noting Robin's scowl in his direction, the boy flashed a wink and a smirk. Ignoring the warmth of her face, Robin deepened her frown. "So now boy make music." Gregor pushed the boy forward with a grimace. "Be telling Gregor if boy skip this, too. Gregor is going now."

With a half-hearted wave, Robin watched Gregor leave the band room before turning on her new band member. "Can I go now?" he drawled, edging back towards the door.

"No, you can't," Robin replied. She folded her arms over her chest and studied the boy. "Quit looking around so shiftily. It's irritating." The boy shrugged and stared lazily at Robin instead. Glancing back at the band, Robin frowned at Chrom's shrug. As she turned back to the boy, Robin found him closer to the door than before. Grabbing his arm, Robin pulled the boy to the rest of the band. He scowled, but Robin ignored it. "This is our newest member. His name is…"

"Gaius," the orange-haired boy muttered. Lissa beamed at the new boy, and Maribelle leaned over to mouth something to the blonde that looked suspiciously like 'delinquent.' Whatever it was, Lissa's eyes shone with fascination. Sumia shot him one of her finger-wiggly waves, but Gaius seemed not to notice.

"And he plays the…"

"I have been told I play a mean recorder." One or two people giggled, as Robin shot Gaius a frosty glare. The boy shrugged at her, twirling his lollypop yet again. Crossing her arms, Robin resisted the urge to pluck the candy from his fingers. "Can I go now?"

"No," she hissed. Pointing to the back of the band, she said, "I need more drum line. Vaike, wave." The blonde gave Gaius a wave and a grin. "You can join him in the back, playing bass drum."

"Charming suggestion…" Gaius twisted around Robin, "But I think—"

Once again snagging his arm, Robin kept Gaius where he was. "The bass drums are the other way." Gaius scowled but freeing his arm from Robin's hold, sauntered to the back. With the deftness of someone accustomed to the instrument, he quickly set up one of the drums and a music stand.

Turning to face the girl, Gaius tossed her another sly wink. "Don't I just live to serve, Bubbles?"

"I'm Robin. Pleased to meet you," she added drily, passing the bass drum music through the band.

"Most people are, Bubbles." Gaius looked up from his music, with the smirk Robin itched to smack off his face. Shooting glares at all of the gigglers, Robin began band practice.

Gaius had played some percussion before. He sight-read the music and fit in with the band with ease. His personality was another matter. "Bye, Bubbles," he purred at her, spinning his lollypop in one hand, other arm resting on her stand. "Don't cry too much in my absence." Robin yanked her music scores out from under his arm, and Gaius's grin only broadened into something more cat-like. Sticking his lollypop back in his mouth and his hands in pockets, the boy meandered out the door.

Twisting around, Robin sighed at Sumia. "Do you know him? Is he always this much of an ass?"

"Ehh?" Sumia dropped the messenger bag she had just picked up. Raising her eyebrows, Robin watched Sumia fumble for her bag. Blushing, Sumia laughed nervously. "I… uhhh… wouldn't know." The brunette scrambled around Robin, who stuffed her music in her backpack and followed after her.

"If you have blackmail information on Gaius, as your band director you're obligated to share it with me," Robin declared. Sumia's shoulders were inching up towards her reddening ears, and the girl walked even faster. "Don't tell me you fancy—"

Sumia spun around suddenly. "I pushed him down the stairs," she wailed.

"In a murderous—"

"It wasn't in a murderous rage," Sumia answered. She began walking at a slower pace. "We have the same fourth period, and we were walking out one day. He was a little bit in front of me, I tripped on my laces in front of the school, and we both fell down the steps." Sumia sighed. "Except it wasn't like in books where it becomes one of those awesome bonding moments... Gaius hasn't looked me in the face since."

"Maybe I should push him down some stairs, too."

Sumia buried her face in her hands. "Ooooo… I'm such a klutz. Stupid Sumia. Dumb Sumia. Silly, clumsy—"

"Oi! Cut that out." Robin forced Sumia into eye contact, and the brunette quieted down. "If Gaius isn't man enough to look you in the face after you nearly killed him…" Sumia grimaced. "Sorry. Took a tumble with him… God, that's worse." Now blushing, teary-eyed, and generally mortified looking, Sumia sniffled miserably. "Well, whatever. If you want to talk to that annoying orange-haired brat, you should go up and talk to him. Screw what he thinks." With a watery nod, Sumia brightened up. One finger-wiggly wave later, the brunette was off in the direction of her home.

Robert, who had been silently trailing after the pair, jogged up to Robin. "So, you wanted to ask me something?" Silently thanking her brother's tact in not mentioning Sumia, Robin nodded. Robert grinned. "And?"

Robin strode ahead of her brother. "I… We didn't have sports teams at Plegian." While she couldn't see Robert's face, Robin supposed it was still stuck in one of his goofy grins. "Which you know so…"

"You need my help," he piped up suddenly. "If you didn't have sports teams, then you didn't have pep bands, so you have no idea what you're doing, which irritates -."

"Enough." Robin chewed on her lip, making a note to bring ChapStick to class tomorrow. "Just tell me what I'm supposed to do on Friday."

* * *

On Tuesday, Robin's locker eavesdropper was gone. Instead, Gaius was sprawled on the floor outside Robin's locker, a donut in hand. Finishing the donut with ladylike delicacy, the boy looked up at Robin. "You're on my locker. I need to get to that." Robin folded her arms and glared.

Gaius remained where he was. "From what I hear, you can't even open it." With a lazy, feline stretch, Gaius stood up. He was taller than Robin and much too close to her. Pride, however, kept her in her place. Now it was a battle, and Robin didn't lose. "If you ask nice, I could open it for you." Unpeeling a candy, Gaius raised an eyebrow as he crinkled the wrapper.

Quicker than usual, Robin snatched the candy from the boy's fingers. Shiny, pink and artificial, the sweet seemed important to him, and Gaius's face fell immediately. Smiling at Gaius's glare, Robin resisted the urge to stick her tongue at him. "It's too early for candy, I'm doing you a favor." Eyes cast down to the floor, Gaius began to pout, cocky exterior sliding off smoothly. "Why are you here?"

Scuffing the floor with one black sneaker, Gaius did not look up. "…Not telling."

A part of Robin, the part that won at all costs, was screaming at her to mention Sumia. Despite the girl's insistence that the incident between the two was accidental, Robin was sure Gaius was mortified. Even Sumia was embarrassed, and the girl tripped all the time. "You're behaving like a child." Gaius stuck his tongue out at her. The childish portion of her personality, the one Gaius insisted on dredging up, cursed not sticking her own tongue out at him earlier. Robin's competitive side whispered for a mention of Sumia. "God give me strength," Robin muttered. Close enough to hear her, Gaius resumed pouting. "If I return this hard candy to you…" Like a small puppy, Gaius perked up at once. Taken aback at his sudden enthusiasm, Robin faltered. "Er… If I return this hard candy to you, will you go?" Gaius nodded, and Robin placed the sweet back in his palm. Something stopped her from mentioning Gaius's fall down the stairs.

At once, the boy popped the candy in his mouth with a satisfied smile. "Hard bargainer there, Bubbles." Robin rolled her eyes. "Don't pretend your heart doesn't flutter at my witty nickname."

"I don't have to pretend anything. Weren't you going?" Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Gaius strolled off. "I'll see you at practice this afternoon," Robin cried after him. It wasn't that she wanted him there. Rather, she didn't, but it seemed important that Gaius should be there.

"Wouldn't it be easier if I just didn't show up?" Gaius shouted in reply. It came out, the reason for his sudden desire to open her locker.

"You're my only bass drum."

* * *

As Robin dropped her bag next to her conductor's stand, Lissa bounded up to her. "Did Gaius help you with your locker?" Robin's eyes narrowed. A quick scan of the band room revealed Gaius wasn't here today. Oblivious, Lissa continued on. "He came up to me this morning asking for help getting along with you, so I told him he should try to help you with your locker. Did Robert mention he, Maribelle, and I tried to fix it last Thursday?" Whipping her gaze to her brother, Robin found him studying his music with uncharacteristic concentration. "Anyways, we couldn't fix it, so I thought if Gaius could, you'd be happy." Lissa's smile shone with good intentions. Before Robin could tell the girl to drop her good intentions down a well, the blonde began to chatter again. "He even called me princess." Lissa was practically sparkling, and she bounced excitedly. "For a delinquent, he's awfully nice."

"Hmph." Shuffling some music around, Lon'qu did not look up from his stand, but Robin was suspicious she heard something from him. Silently, she agreed. For a delinquent, Gaius was awfully scheming.

Twisting around, Lissa pouted at the boy. "Gaius is nice! You scared him away with all that glaring over my shoulder is all." Lissa flounced back to her seat and crossed her arms with a little scowl at Lon'qu. Their bonding was going well, Robin supposed. At any rate, Lon'qu sat fully in his seat, instead of on the far edge. Perhaps he could keep Lissa out of the trouble she was fishing for.

Robin shuffled some scores around on her stand. Gaius wasn't here yet, and neither was Sumia. Which was fine, she reminded herself. The band had to start practice soon, and the odds of Gaius and Sumia tripping down another staircase were low and thus unworthy of worry. Before she could start practice, however, Sumia barged into the band room, pulling Gaius along by the arm.

"Hey, Robin. Oooo, look, we just made it." Sumia was grinning with extreme enthusiasm. Gaius looked like he had eaten a few too many sweets. As Sumia closed the door behind them, Gaius tore off to the percussion section with unusual speed. "Would you believe Gaius didn't know where the band room is?" With an exaggerated shrug, Gaius shook his head. He looked anywhere but to Sumia, who smiled at him as she set up her space. While they brought a commotion with them, Robin hid her own smile at Sumia's brightened mood.

* * *

Wednesday was difficult. Robin's locker still would not open. At one point, Gaius trailed by, backpack-less, and offered to help. Despite her attempts to shoo him away, Gaius proceeded to sit next to her locker and toss candy wrappers at her cheek. In biology, Stahl got himself and Robin Thursday morning detention for talking in class. Perhaps an act of self-preservation after nineteen, not that she was counting, thrown candy wrappers, Gaius skipped practice. Band itself was stressful, even with the orange haired nuisance gone. As the last rehearsal before their performance, every mistake was more critical and every minute more precious. After quickly arranging a meeting time on Friday, Robin was relieved to see everyone go.

Although aware nothing could be done now, Robin spent most of Thursday panicking internally. When school let out at last, she rushed to the quiet relief of the piano. Per usual, Sumia was practicing mellophone at one end of the room. As Robin entered, the brunette shot her a characteristic wave before returning to her music. Dropping her backpack next to the piano stool, Robin ran through a few warm up exercises. Just as she was about to begin her new piece, an intruder wandered into the band room.

"Gaius?" Sumia exclaimed with poorly concealed delight at the boy's entrance. She placed her instrument down on its case and clasped her hands together.

Gaius froze in the doorway. His eyes darted around the room, and his lollypop twirled through his fingers even faster. "I… Uh. Crivens, wrong room." Slowly, the boy began retreating out of the music room. Good riddance, Robin supposed.

"Wait!" Shooting upward, Sumia followed after him. The brunette made it about two steps before stumbling over her music stand and face planting. "Ooooo…"

"Are you okay?" Robin and Gaius both shot each other the universal 'we both know we just said that, but neither of us will ever admit it' glance and shut their mouths. Rushing over, Robin knelt by Sumia, who sat up, bright red. Gaius hovered behind Robin for a moment before collecting up Sumia's music and righting her stand.

"I'm fine." Sumia bit her lip. Squatting down next to the two girls, Gaius handed the brunette her music. He studied the wall instead of making eye contact with either of them, but the gesture cheered the girl up anyways. Taking her music from him, Sumia brushed off her shorts and tights and stood back up. "Sorry, I'm such a klutz. Umm… Gaius?" The boy seemed frozen again, lost in thought, embarrassment, or whatever it was that floated through his pesky brain. Briefly, Gaius glanced up at Sumia, who brightened, before averting his gaze. "You can stay and practice... If you want to, that is." Rather than responding, the boy wandered off to collect his instrument and music. Sumia, grinning, returned to her mellophone, and Robin, who had a strange urge to grin as well, scowled instead, before returning to her piano.

* * *

Friday afternoon, the energy in the band room buzzed. As the musicians collected their instruments, music, and the flip books and lyres required to play in the stands, Robin felt off kilter. "Relax, we'll do fine." Baritone in hand, Stahl smiled down at the girl.

"I know that," Robin objected. "Robert coached —I arranged everything last night." Folding her arms, Robin scowled at Stahl's chuckle.

"You don't have to know everything you know." Rather than reply, Robin stacked up some scores, more for comfort than for use. "You are allowed to rely on us a little," Stahl added warmly.

Robin watched Vaike punch Chrom's arm as the pair walked out with Sully and Sumia. The brunette waved at Robin, who waved back. With a newly polished baritone, Frederick hurried after them. "I know that," she mumbled. Maribelle and Lissa, deep in gossip, left next. Ricken trailed after Maribelle, for some reason juggling his equipment and her music. "Robert told me that last night." Robert and Virion, who Robin learned yesterday were in chess together, collected up some remaining music and wandered to the soccer field. Lon'qu had blended in with the crowd. Running late, Gaius scrambled out to the field last, hastily fixing his bass drum harness.

Acutely aware she and Stahl were the only ones left in the room, Robin found it easier to stare at his shirt, emblazoned with some sci-fi film she didn't recognize, than his face. "We should go, too."

"Eh? Crap, everyone left us." Stahl hurried to his bag and began pulling out his flip book, lyre, and stray sheet music. Now that there were more than a few feet between them, Robin watched Stahl rummage through his bag. Scrambling back up, Stahl smiled at the girl again and made his way to the door. Before Robin could react, Stahl ruffled her hair as he walked by. "Coming, Bubbles?"

"Can it." With an armful of scores preventing her from fixing her pale hair, Robin strode after him.

Blinking in the sunlight, Robin followed Stahl to the soccer fields. As the pair arrived, Chrom waved at them from the far corner of the home stands. "You missed my pep talk," he said "I seated the band. This good?" Chrom waved one sleeveless arm out to the band. They were small enough to take up two bleacher benches, with the percussion on the ground. Trapped between Sumia and Lissa, Lon'qu looked uncomfortable, but Robin ignored it. Stahl joined Frederick and Sully in the second row. At Robin's nod, Chrom took a place at Sully's side.

The stands were filling up slowly. A few people cast glances in their direction, and a few more, sitting behind the band, asked Chrom questions. Somehow, Robin noted, everyone knew him. Not a person walked by that had not waved to the boy or struck up a conversation with him. What he was doing here, in some start-up pep band, was still a mystery. "Looks like we're seat buddies, Bubbles." With yet another lollypop, Gaius leaned an elbow on Robin's shoulder.

"Unless you bought that candy here, I'm going to have to confiscate it. No outside food in the stands." Robin stepped away from Gaius, and the boy stumbled at the loss of her shoulder.

"Hey, can I get everyone's attention, real quick?" Sumia waved her mellophone in the air, nearly catching Gaius in the head and cutting off his retort. The band turned towards the brunette. Gaius, with his mysterious fear of Sumia, watched the soccer players warm up on the field instead. "So, my good friend Cordelia, who most of you know…" As the rest of the band agreed, Robin felt a strong urge to contradict her. "She's team captain of the soccer team, which most of you also know, I guess." Sumia laughed nervously. "A-anyways, you're all staring at me, huh. I don't know how you do this, Chrom." The boy patted her on the shoulder. With slightly pinker cheeks and more nervous laughter, Sumia continued. "Cordelia's number is five, so everyone should cheer really loudly for her." The words tumbled out quickly, and Sumia quieted down equally quickly. Chrom patted the brunette's shoulder again, and she shot him a grin. As Sumia turned back to Robin, the girl found herself mouthing 'good job.' Sumia's grin widened.

* * *

Soccer turned out to be some long affair, involving a lot of running back and forth on the grass. During long periods of play or rest, Robin led the pep band in a song. After the first fifteen minutes, the girl was comfortable with the perfomance. Left with nothing to do but talk with her neighbors and watch the game, Robin stared aimlessly out at the soccer field. The ball got kicked out of bounds a lot, and Robin was glad the concrete stadium was a few feet off the ground. Best as Robin could tell, Sumia's friend Cordelia scored some points, and the crowd, not just the band, cried the red-head's name frequently. She was rather pretty, with long red hair and a gentle expression. Irrationally, Robin found herself turning Sumia's words over in her head. A good friend and a regular friend were different somehow, Robin supposed. Of course, she and Sumia were just acquaintances, so Robin probably didn't even rank in Sumia's hierarchy of friends, just like Sumia definitely didn't rank in hers.

Snapping out of her reverie, Robin tuned in to the sound of booing. The players had stopped kicking the ball and were clustered around one of their companions. Leaning over, Robert whispered to Robin. "Let everyone put their stuff down. Cordelia's been fouled." Robin gave everyone the at ease gesture, before turning back to the field. Sumia, she noted, was bouncing up and down, wringing her hands. As she leaned on the guardrails, Robin watched the referee flash a red card in the air. However, there were still too many players clustered around Cordelia to see what had happened.

Abruptly, the crowd around Cordelia cleared. The red-head attempted to stand up and quickly crumpled to the ground. "…Fractured ankle," Lon'qu muttered. Two of the coaches, or perhaps medics, ran on to the field with a stretcher. Despite Cordelia's attempts to stand, the men scooped her up and off the field.

"I'm going to talk to her," Sumia piped up. Shrugging away Chrom and Sully's hands, Sumia edged out of the stands. Before Robin could even curse the girl's clumsiness, the brunette was tumbling into the front row.

"Sumia!" Robin's voice sounded even higher in the stadium's silence.

"Crivens! Do you have a death wish, Stumbles?!" With a small grunt of pain, Gaius leaned up on one of his elbows, Sumia cradled in his other arm. Robin was thankful the instruments sat a few feet away from the pair. Not only would any one of them have been painful to land on, the instruments were rather delicate.

The brunette pushed herself off his chest, and Gaius's arm slid off her waist like it had never rested there. "Oooo, I- Oh, Gaius, are you okay?" Sumia's face was flaming, and she remained seated on the ground next to the boy.

Gaius straightened up. Digging a hand in his back pocket, he pulled out a crushed selection of sweets. "The concrete destroyed my day's stash," he announced, in the tone one would use to announce the cancellation of a long-planned, extravagant holiday.

"At least it spared your skull," Robin deadpanned before bending to Sumia. "Are you okay?" she asked, in a much more gentle tone.

Sumia flashed her now reddened palms. "Just some scraped hands. Nothing much for a klutz like me." Sully, Chrom, and Frederick, who all been inching closer to the girl, seemed to relax a little, although Sully was still glaring at Gaius as if he had tripped the brunette. In an unusual reversal, Gaius stared at Sumia, who was intent on studying everything except for her rescuer. "I can't believe I knocked you over again, Gaius." Standing back up, Sumia stuck a hand out for the boy.

"Gimme some credit." With Sumia's hand, Gaius pulled himself up. "I caught you both times." At some point, the game had started back up. Suddenly, Robin felt like an eavesdropper. "Just keep it quiet, would ya? A delinquent like me can't be helping dummies like you. Bad for the public image."

"Well, I think some of the public might have seen that last save." Dusting off her now slightly shredded tights, Sumia gave Gaius a delighted grin. "Guess we'll just have to be friends now. Anyways." Sumia whirled around to Robin. "I want to check on Cordelia. Is that okay?"

"Just tie your laces first." Tying up her shoes, Sumia jogged towards the newly assembled medical set up.

"Oi! Walk, Stumbles. Don't run," Gaius called after her. "Kid gives me a headache," he muttered to Robin. "You see why I try to avoid looking after her. Girl's a walking calamity."

"You worry about her," Robin announced. Gaius didn't deny her statement, and his grimace at her words only confirmed them. "Sumia appreciates it. I still dislike you, though."

"Awww, Bubbles, I know you're sweet on me." Reassembling his drum and sheet music, Gaius winked at her. With a warm face, Robin cursed her tendency to blush. "I think saving your friend there might have earned me a kiss."

"We aren't friends." At least, Sumia hadn't told her otherwise, and she just warned Gaius that they were friends. It seemed like these things required verbal confirmation.

"Riiiiight. Well, kiss me any time, Bubbles."

* * *

**Gaius, you little five year old trapped in an adult body, why are you so cute?**

**Ah, well, per usual, I take all suggestions, pairings, and reviews to heart, even if it doesn't seem like it sometimes. PM's are just peachy, too.  
**

**See ya!**


	5. Tharja - Her Biggest Fan

**A quick update and a shorter chapter...**

**To my reviewers:**

****pureshadow013: That may be my head canon now... Seriously, now that the idea has been planted, there is no escape.  
****

****Mattariago: Anna is totally going to be introduced. In other news, guess who debuts today... Her role is only going to grow.****

****Cormag Ravenstaff: I wanna read your AU! Tell me when it's up!****

****Madame Shadow: Enemies are indeed going to be incorporated, although they won't be portrayed as quite so sinisterly villanous... In fact, there is a mention of one hiding in today's update!****

****Random Chicky: Future children are going to appear. Soon actually!****

****Thank you to my new follower kcperidot!****

****In other news, this story is currently unbeta'd, sooooo if someone some beta reading experience, well... PM me?****

**Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

As the rest of the class chattered around them, Robin and Sumia sat in English. They had recently finished a short story on a man achieving his dreams and were now left to discuss their own dreams with a partner. Cupping her chin in her hands, Sumia scrunched her face together. "Mmm... You know, that's actually tricky, describing your dreams. Being professional writer would be nice... but I'd love to be able to bake the perfect pie... or, you know, I've always had this fantasy where I join the circus- Don't laugh!" Robin covered her grin with her hand as Sumia blushed. "What's your dream, Robin?"

"I dream to become a millionaire."

Sumia frowned. "That's not it. You said it with out hesitation." Robin raised an eyebrow at her. "What's your real dream? No lying."

Leaning back in her chair, Robin folded her arms. The classroom still buzzed in conversation, and Sumia smiled at the girl, eyes sparkling with expectation. "That is my dream." Robin stared up at the English classroom ceiling. Five pencil erasers peered down at her. Waving a hand at the ceiling, Robin said, "Looks like someone got bored."

With a huff, Sumia poked Robin's shoulder. "You're changing the subject. Earning lots of money is a side-effect of a certain lifestyle. It's too vague to be a dream." Robin stared up at the ceiling, and Sumia slid her chair a little closer to Robin's desk. "Robiiiiiiiin…"

"Some people just don't have dreams."

"That's not true. You're chewing on your bottom lip right now. I promise I won't laugh at it." Digging for her lip balm, Robin just shook her head at the brunette. Sumia frowned. "I… Fine." As the rest of the class talked on, the two drifted into awkward silence.

* * *

Before practice, Chrom was at the front of the band, with more new faces in tow. At Robin's arrival, he waved the girl over. "Who're they?" she asked, flinging an arm out at the students behind him.

"Newbies." Chrom was excited. It shone in his face, and the boy was having difficulties staying still. "Our performance on Friday inspired a few people."

Chrom pulled the boy forward first. The boy stuck one dirt smudged hand out to Robin and with a toothy grin, said, "Donnel. Pleased 'ta meetcha, m'am. I haven't ever played anythin' before, but y'all made it sound so fun, I just had to give it a try." Shaking his hand and then quickly dropping it, Robin sighed as Chrom shrugged. Another amateur it appeared she would have to deal with.

"I guess you can try drums. Gaius…" Gaius shook his head frantically. "I mean, Vaike…" The blonde grinned a little. In his enthusiastic waving, Vaike nearly upended the nearby snare drum. Robin could not squash a sense of foreboding at the idea of his tutoring someone. "Well… just go back there and we'll see what happens." With an eager nod, the boy trotted off to the back.

Chrom pushed the other new recruit forward. The Goth ducked away from his touch with a shudder and turned to Robin. "I know you," the Goth announced. Dark hair obscuring most of her face, the girl was unrecognizable.

"Look," Robin sighed. "I'm not in the mood for games. Just give me your name and instrument and we can talk about this later."

"I've been to all your public performances. The one a few months ago at Ylistol Capitol Theatre was—"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Robin said flatly. "Now do you have a name and an instrument, or should I just pick something?"

"But—"

"No." Robin could hear her voice rising, feel her temperature rising. People were staring at her, and all she wanted was for them to go away.

"…Tharja. I play the clarinet, and I have all the ticket stubs from-"

Robin waved to the front row. "Just go sit next to my brother. Robert, meet Tharja." Tharja glanced at him over her shoulder but seemed unwilling to move. "Tharja, Donnel, I'm Robin. Nice to meet you." As Robin stood in front of her stand, she ignored Robert's attempts to catch her eye. Tharja slid in between Robert and Ricken and proceeded to stare at Robin in some sort of rapture. Robin could feel their gazes burning into her the entire practice. As soon as she ended band, Robin whirled out of the classroom before anyone could stop her.

* * *

Instead of the usual locker loiter, who Robin was beginning to miss, or Gaius, praise the higher powers, Tharja, lurking entirely in black again, leaned against the locker next Robin's the next morning. "Why, and how, are you here?" Robin hissed, bending down to open her locker. The door remained shut.

"I threatened one of those fools from yesterday into giving me your locker number. Speaking of which, is your brother around? I want to show him my doll collection." Evidently, Robin missed something yesterday, and she really did not want to know what.

"Robert already left to meet Lissa and Maribelle. Go away." Robin spun the lock around a few times. It rattled at her, a mockery.

Tharja twisted a few strands of long, dark hair around her fingers. "I wrote about our meeting yesterday on my blog. The passionate charge when our eyes finally met…" The Goth sighed happily. "I knew some day you would notice me."

Clenching her teeth, Robin contemplating beating her own head into the locker. Maybe it would open? "Listen. I appreciate that you've seen my performances." Tharja lit up instantly, the smile stiff and unpracticed. "But I'm… That's over. Done. Drop the subject."

Fiddling with the hem of her skirt, Tharja scowled down at Robin. "A prodigy such as yourself shouldn't hoard your talent." The locker wasn't opening. Robin stood up abruptly. She needed to walk somewhere, anywhere, run far away from this girl. "I saw you at that first concert, and I knew you were special. 'This girl is not like the others,' I told myself. We were ten, maybe younger. Your father led you on stage." Tharja's voice was hypnotic. Listening to it brought back that first performance, the blinding lights, roaring applause of the crowd, father's hand on her shoulder. "And your performance was beautiful. I—"

"Bubbles," Gaius strolled by, hands in his pockets. "And Sunshine." He pulled Robin back to Ylissean North High, the school where music meant nothing. "What's—"

"Go away." Her voice sounded tiny, distant.

Instead Gaius drew closer, placing a hand on her shoulder. His face was much too close and a little too blurry. "Oi. Robin, are you—"

"Go away," she shrieked. People were staring as if she were the soloist again in Ylistol Capitol Hall. Slapping Gaius's arm away, Robin stormed down the opposite end of the hall, far from Gaius and Tharja. The school was still unfamiliar, and Robin wandered until she found a deserted stairwell. She sat there. At some point, Gaius sat next to her. "Don't you have class to go to?" Robin mumbled, rubbing at her eyes hastily.

"And deprive you of my ravishing company?" Gaius leaned back on one of the steps. Resting her arms on her knees, Robin laid her forehead on her arms. "Wanna get out of here?"

Yes, but only father can take me that far away. "No." Robin's voice was muffled, but Gaius seemed to understand. The pair sat in silence.

* * *

After band, Robin watched her members trickle out slowly. Tharja approached her first. "…I have arranged punishment for the orange-haired buffoon for you." Apparently, she had no further explanation to give, and Tharja drifted towards the door. In the doorway, she stopped. "Robert, come discuss tarot cards with me."

At Robin's perplexed frown, Robert shrugged. "Complement a girl's pentagram necklace one time, and she wants to show you her voodoo dolls. Gaius's is filled with pins. Wonder what he did." Fidgeting with his hair, Robert lingered. "Do you…" Robin shook her head. Her voice still felt dried up and weak. "I'll see you at home, then." Robert trailed after Tharja, casting Robin one last glance as he slipped out.

Dropping some papers on her music stand, Stahl leaned on a corner of the stand. "Biology notes," he supplied, "You weren't there to keep me awake, so they may be a little shoddy in some parts." Stahl hesitated. "Are you feeling okay?" At his unusually serious tone, Robin felt an urge to cry again, but her eyes were hot, dry, and tired. Ducking down to get her bag, Robin could not look to Stahl. The boy sighed. "I know I said this on Friday, but everyone is here for you. Even if there's something you can't tell me… you can tell someone." Stahl straightened up, fingers drumming against the stand.

"…Thanks." Stahl's fingers quieted, and the boy meandered towards the door. It wasn't what he wanted. Robin knew it, but it was all she could supply at the moment. "I…" She clenched and unclenched her hands as Stahl rested on the doorframe.

"Take your time. I'll… We'll be here." Robin barely heard it.

With a flittering of fingers on Robin's shoulder, Sumia lingered at the girl's side. "I... I do hope we're friends, Robin." It seemed Sumia could not meet her eyes. Wringing her hands, the brunette stared aimlessly at the door as Robin did the same to her stand. "I know I've only been a burden but..."

Robin collected up her music and Stahl's notes into her bag. "You know how when you're six or seven, and your parents tell you that you can do anything, so you pick some random, stupid dream... And then you get older, and you realize just how random and stupid it was?" Unsure when she started talking, Robin was compelled to continue. "So you pick a new dream, and you think 'This is it. I could do this and be happy.' Well, sometimes that dream is stupid, too." Zipping up her bag, Robin hoisted it over her shoulder and stood up. She felt calmer somehow. "C'mon. Let's go. You should tell me what we did in English today."

* * *

**Tharja! And backstory! And angst! Well, all three of those things had to happen at some point.**

**Anyways, reviews, pairing suggestions, PMs, any and all of it. I love to hear your thoughts!**


	6. Nowi - Childish

**Haven't mentioned this in a while, so blah, blah, blah I don't own Fire Emblem or the characters in it...**

**Anyways, Author's Note:**

**To my fabulous reviewers:**

**TomCraftTnT: Thanks for the suggestion! Lucina's debut is in the works.**

**Mattariago: Glad to hear you enjoyed my Tharja! She does indeed have different reasons to follow around Robin and Robert. Let's be honest, Robert isn't the musical one here.**

**pureshadow13: Lolololol. But Gaius, really? Stay away from the Goth chick.**

**Shadow: No longer Madame? I'm thinking PLOT TWIST. Donnel is Fell Dragon Grima. Queue massive musical playoff on the roof. Possible dramatic character sacrifice. In other news, some pairings are decided, some aren't. In support of realism, most of these are slow burn, and we can only see what Robin can see. Robin needs to eavesdrop on people more! ;)**

**Cormag Ravenstaff: I'ma take you up on that beta reading. I'll PM you before I publish the next chapter. Thanks! Also, when your AU is up, I wanna read it! And Anna, I have her character alllllll mapped out. It's going to be TOTALLY AWESOME.**

**Random Chicky: Thanks! Poor Robin... The girl has some people problems...**

**SHMRAHHHH: Thank you! I actually don't know of too many other AUs... Mattariago has a cop AU, and I know someone has another high school AU... Fire Emblem: Awakening Division, maybe? If you search by reviews, it has a lot.**

**passwordrawr: Thanks! And who says Maribelle doesn't play the violin? :)**

**Shout out to my new followers Rachaelmc, Latias Eevee (Woo Pokemon!), SHMRAHHHH, Amplifyingly Loud, Pokebrawl88, and passwordrawr**

**Further shout out for all who favorited my story!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

A half-awake Stahl on one side, a bored Gaius on the other, Robin was at school on a Saturday. Cross-country runners were clustered in groups by penny color, and the band waited in the shade of the nearby trees. "We don't even have instruments," Robin growled. Gaius moaned, lying against a nearby tree. Ignoring him, Robin continued, "This isn't a pep band event. Why are we sweating out in the woods behind the school if we aren't even playing something?" Tugging her sticky shirt from its clinging position on her back, Robin glared in the direction of the Ylissean North cross-country team.

"I'm dyyyyyyyying over here." Lissa flopped to a seating position on the ground. "When are they going to give us something to do?"

"Robin!" Sumia jogged over to the group, a red-head, Cordelia, Robin recalled, hobbling after her on a crunch. With an exaggerated huff, Gaius pulled himself back up. Despite the stray hair stuck to her face and the flush of her cheeks, Sumia was cheery. "Chrom's stuck in a pep talk, but they sent me over to give you guys directions." Shooting Cordelia a curious glance, Robin gleaned nothing from the girl's polite smile.

Pulling out a small map, Sumia continued. "Here's the race course. We need people in the places marked to hand out water or direct runners. Supplies are the stadium storage shed." As Robin split the band into groups, Sumia hovered behind her. "I… have a favor to ask." Nudging Cordelia forward, Sumia chirped, "Meet Cordelia."

"You're Robin, right? Sumia's told me so much about you," Cordelia said. Although the girl was cordial, Robin felt on edge.

Robin nodded at the red-head. "Pleased to meet you."

Oblivious to the tenuous undercurrent, Sumia grinned even wider. "Cordelia volunteered to help run the cross-county meet stuff, too. I think this would be a good time for you guys to bond. Will you let her work with you?"

* * *

While Cordelia was rather kind, the longer Robin sat between her and Stahl's conversation, the more tense she felt. "Sooo, you're captain of the women's soccer team, top of our academic class, second in command to Chrom on student council, president of the Science Olympiad team, is there anything you can't do?"

"Well, there is this sighing habit Sumia likes to remind me off…" Robin laughed politely. Cordelia smiled, but Stahl gave her an odd look.

"What?"

Stahl widened his eyes at her. "Eh? Nothing. Oh, look." Pointing down the wooded path, Stahl rose from his seat to wave to Chrom. Unlike Robin, who cringed internally at the sweat trickling down her back, Chrom seemed to enjoy the heat. Grinning, Chrom snatched a water cup from Cordelia and gave the trio a quick wave. "He's the first runner, right? Oh, wait. There's Vaike, too."

Robin held a water cup out to the blonde as Stahl waved again. Watching the other end of the path, Cordelia seemed lost in thought. Grabbing the water cup, Vaike dumped it over his head before tossing the now crushed cup back to Robin. "Hey!" Gritting her teeth, Robin rocketed out of her seat. At Cordelia's curious gaze, she sat down abruptly. Screaming at Vaike may not have been what Sumia wanted for bonding. "I… uh… was feeling a bit stiff. Um… So?" Stahl seemed rather interested in the trees, suppressing some sort of laughter, or maybe concern.

"So, you're president of the pep band?" Despite her collared, buttoned up shirt, Cordelia looked perfectly put together, not the least upset by the heat. Even in her t-shirt and shorts, Robin suspected she looked more overheated than the girl.

"Actually, Chrom's the president. I'm just the conductor." Flashing another pleasant smile, Cordelia offered a water cup to another runner. "But I do just about everything except set up our events." For some reason, it seemed important to impress Cordelia or at least get a reaction from her that wasn't that smile. For the last twenty minutes, that expression, almost patronizing, seemed pasted to Cordelia's face.

"Ah, well running a club is hard work. I'm sure Chrom appreciates all the help you give him."

"He does."

"Sumia tells me all about it."

"Well, Sumia tells me all about—" What? The pie she baked two days ago? How many laps Chrom ran on Wednesday?

Thrusting a flower in front of her face, Stahl cut Robin off. "Here," he said with a smile. Taking the delicate yellow flower, Robin felt rather ridiculous. As was becoming apparent, Sumia didn't really tell her much of anything. More for something to do, Robin downed one of the water cups. "Hey, I went through all kinds of trouble to get that flower. You should be treasuring it."

Picking the flower off the table, Robin twirled it around. With that gracious smile, Cordelia passed out another water cup. Robin slipped the flower behind her ear. She felt silly, and Stahl's widening grin was making her feel sillier. Avoiding eye contact with Cordelia, Stahl, and the passing runners, Robin watched the flow of water as she filled more water cups.

* * *

Heaving the table, chairs, water jug, and left over cups back to Ylissean North's stadium, Robin and her companions found everyone else waiting for them. Robin dropped the water jug on the ground with a scowl. Although Cordelia was still somewhere behind her shoulder, Robin was tired of being pleasant. "Remind me never to do this again." A few others moaned in agreement.

Robert shrugged. With the longer ends of his hair tied back, the boy looked only sweatier and more tired. "Chrom asked us to help out. Said the publicity would be good."

Usually stoic, Lon'qu plopped on the ground with a growl. "You can tell him where to shove his publicity. Too hot for this."

"Heeeeeeeey!" A little girl, a freshman, Robin supposed, ran up to them. Her shirt was tied up to expose the girl's stomach, and she seemed unaffected by the heat. "Woweee! You guys are all Chrom's friends? What are you all lying around for? C'mon with me to the locker room." The girl jogged off, green ponytail bouncing behind her, and the band scrambled after her.

Despite the runners crammed inside, the locker room was deliciously cool. With a sigh, Lissa rested her cheek on the cold metal of one of the lockers, and the usually reserved Maribelle seemed to be contemplating the same. Ankle evidently bothering her more than she expressed, Cordelia sat down quickly. Standing on one of the benches, the little girl was only slightly taller than Chrom standing next to her. At the band's arrival, Chrom, Sully, and the other band runners gave waves of varying enthusiasm. The green-haired girl grinned widely at them. Resting an arm on Chrom's head, she pointed a finger at the band. "I wanna join your music thingy, Blue," she announced. "I say eeeeveryone here is going to join Chrom's band."

The cross-country team shuffled around, but no one seemed willing to contradict the girl. "Uh, Nowi, I don't think you can do that," Chrom supplied. "We appreciate it though."

Pouting, Nowi stuck her tongue out at the boy. "Fiddlesticks. Chrom, you're no fun." She pushed herself off his head and twirled around. "What's the point of being boss if you can't order people around?" With a sigh, Nowi began to pace down the line of benches, hopping over the gaps that separated them. "Well, ignore stick-in-the-mud Chrom… You guys did awesome!" She thrust a tiny fist into the air as the cross-country team cheered. "Yay super-extremely-dull Chrom and much-more-fun Vaike for getting first and second place in the men's, and yay Kjelle the freshie for getting second place in the women's!" Nearby members clapped Vaike on the back, and Sully wrapped a hand around Chrom's shoulder with a grin. With a poorly hidden smile, a pony-tailed girl nudged another. One of them must be Kjelle, Robin decided.

Stepping over one of the seated cross-country members, Nowi turned back to the band. "Also, let's give a big cheer for Chrom's band. You guys are great at holding water cups." Despite the compliment's dubious nature, the cross country team cheered anyways. "Alright," Nowi cried over the applause. "What are you all hanging around here for? Get outta here, slowpokes."

As the team dispersed, Chrom piped up hastily, "Don't forget there's no practice on Thursday. Instead we'll be organizing our supplies for the school Fall Festival." Chrom continued talking, but Nowi skipped over to Robin instead of listening.

Hopping off of the bench, the girl came up to her shoulder. "Leading a club is tough stuff, neh?" Sticking a hand on her waist, Nowi thrust the other one out to Robin. "I'm Nowi, team co-captain with Mr. Serious." Nowi pumped Robin's hand up and down with a grin. "I'm a junior, which makes me your senior, so listen to what I say, okay?" Nowi's overabundance of energy reminded Robin how exhausted she was. Before Robin could escape, Nowi was chattering away, steering the conversation firmly.

* * *

"I need your opinion, Robin." Tharja stood outside the girl's locker, as Robin once again struggled with the lock. "Which of these best portrays your male counterpart?" Holding two equally creepy dolls with pale hair, Tharja watched Robin expectantly.

"You mean Robert, my brother?" Robin missed her locker lurker. "Ask him. Go away."

Tharja scowled but thrust the dolls closer to Robin's face. "I wish to talk with you. Because you do not wish to talk about music, I must discuss one of your other interests. Robert expressed curiosity in my dolls earlier, and it is important I show him my best work. Incidentally, do you have a lock of his hair on hand?"

"I—What? No."

"May I have another lock of your hair, instead? I'm afraid I'm already using the one I took last week in your doll. With your twin connection, your hair should substitute quite nicely for Robert's hair." Robin opened her mouth to respond but shut it instead. Some statements had no reply. Robin began to walk towards biology, but Tharja trailed after her. "Cordelia… The dark auras radiating from the two of you are positively delicious. I could trade. A lock of Robert's hair for a good curse?"

"Cordelia hasn't done anything," Robin replied. "We've been perfectly polite."

"Doesn't mean she hasn't thought about doing something nasty," Tharja muttered. "Doesn't mean you haven't thought about it either."

Spinning around, Robin glared at the Goth. "Doesn't mean you're going to do anything about it. Cordelia is Sumia's friend and as such is exempt from curses."

Tharja scowled, wrapping some strands of hair around a finger. "You didn't care when I cursed Gaius last—"

"Far as I know, Gaius had a bad migraine." Robin turned back around and strode into Biology. "No cursing Cordelia," she yelled behind her.

* * *

Robin dropped her Biology notebook on the table with a thunk. Jerked from his nap, Stahl smiled hazily at the girl. Propping his chin up with one hand, he pushed some sort of breakfast pastry towards Robin with the other. "Mornin'"

"Shove off." Robin grabbed half the pastry anyways.

"Eh?" Breaking a piece of the other half of the pastry, Stahl continued to study her.

"That's the 'I'm going to make Robin feel guilty with my moral support' face." Stahl widened his eyes in innocence. "I don't want to hear it today," she growled. "Tharja already offered me moral support." Collapsing back over the table, Stahl's smile was now mostly obscured by his arm.

"Well, I'm going to point out anyways that there's no reason to compete with Cordelia." At Robin's glare, Stahl shrugged. "You're different people in different situations. Why worry? Also, that fake laugh from Saturday was terrifying."

Flipping through her notebook, Robin avoided his eyes. "I'm not competing with Cordelia." Sitting back up, Stahl pulled his own notebook from his bag. "I'm just… I don't know. Something about her puts me… on edge."

"Well, Sumia cares—Hey," Stahl broke off abruptly. Casting him a sideways glance, Robin found the boy twirling a yellow wildflower. At his grin, Robin lunged for the flower, but Stahl held it just out of reach. "I know this flower," he announced.

"Robert was being all weird about it, so I took the flower out while studying. Guess it fell in my notes." Stahl continued grinning. Jerking to her feet, Robin snatched the flower from his hand. "I forgot I even had the flower in when I left the stadium." Her face was bright red. Even pointedly avoiding eye contact with the boy, Robin could tell Stahl didn't believe her.

"You're using the flower I gave you as a bookmark." Stahl was delighted, and it was only making Robin feel more self-conscious. "Robin, are we perhaps… friends?"

"Just shut up, Stahl." Robin placed the flower back in her notebook. "And before you go getting ideas, people don't give me things often. I guess I just held on to it out of habit."

Stahl chuckled. "Well, we are, whether you like it or not." The idea was comforting for some reason. At the sound of the classroom door closing, the boy returned to seriousness once more. "Sumia is, too, you know. For all your worries about Cordelia, do be confident that Sumia cares about you," he whispered. Ms. Miriel took her place at the front of the class, and Stahl said no more.

* * *

Entering the band room, Robin found Cordelia and Sumia seated side by side. Waving Robin over, Sumia placed a hand on Cordelia's shoulder. "Guess who's joining the band," she squealed. Cordelia nodded at Robin. "I've been teaching her mellophone, but Cordelia's already better than me," Sumia exclaimed. "I want you guys to become friends."

Presenting a hand to Robin, Cordelia gave her another of her smiles. "I look forward to watching your conducting skills in action."

As the two firmly shook hands, Robin returned Cordelia's smile. While the girl was only polite, Robin felt egged on by her words. "And I look forward to hearing you play." Taking her place at the front of the band, Robin began to set out the day's work, rolling her eyes at Stahl's concerned expression.

As Robin was picking scores for the day's practice, Nowi skipped in and threw a rock, whistling past Robin's ear, to smack Chrom on the forehead. As Chrom sighed and Robin frowned, Nowi proceeded to squish herself between the clarinets and flutes. The girl was serious about joining the band. Twisting around in her new seat, Nowi chirped at Chrom, "I saw that rock on the way to band and thought of you. It's blue, you're blue. It's shiny, you're… shiny?" Nowi grinned, as Chrom bent over to locate where the rock had ricocheted to.

"Nowi," Robin barked. Spinning around to a seated position, Nowi kicked her feet rhythmically. Robin could feel the band's eyes, Cordelia's eyes on her. Unlike Chrom, Robin was going to control this green-haired disaster.

"Wowzers!" Leaning across Robert's lap, Nowi plucked Tharja's voodoo doll out of her hand. Oblivious to the one dark storm brewing two seats down and the other directly in front of her, Nowi studied the figure. Robert simply stared at her in horror. With a smile, Nowi dropped it back on Tharja's lap. "Nice. Looks just like this guy." As Nowi poked a relieved Robert, Tharja seemed appeased.

"Nowi," Robin cried again. The girl looked back up, with another grin. "If you wish to stay in this band, you have to listen to what I say, and quiet down when I'm talking." Nowi puffed her cheeks out like a small blowfish but was silent. "Good," Robin said. "Now what instrument do you play?" Pulling a small case from her bag, Nowi held it in front of her face. "Well?" Scowling, Nowi seemed unwilling to say more. Cordelia was watching them. Robin could sense it. "You can talk, Nowi."

"Piccolo."

* * *

Nowi was decent at it, too. Although the girl seemed more dedicated to making the maximum amount of noise, Nowi kept up with the band. Donnel, Robin noted, was making impressive strides. Stahl had mentioned something on Saturday about helping the boy with rhythms, and it was working. With reluctance, Robin also noted Cordelia was good, quite good, easily surpassing Sumia and most of the band in technique and musicality. A small part, a rather nasty part, cursed at that, but Robin squished it quickly.

As the band dispersed, Robin approached Cordelia. "You sound good," she said. Cordelia looked up at her. With a quick glance, Robin found Sumia on the other side of the room, chatting with Gaius. "Look. Sumia wants us to be friends. I'll just be blunt here. Do you—"

"Your conducting was also good." Rising up, Cordelia lent on her crutch, smiling at Robin. It was a hollow smile once more. "You handled Nowi well." The little junior was currently running around the room with Chrom's trumpet high over her head. Chrom massaged his forehead as Vaike gave him a resigned smile, the one given to a doomed man. "Let's be friends." As Sumia dragged a scowling Gaius over towards the pair, Robin was rather sure she and Cordelia were not friends at all.

* * *

**In which Nowi abuses Chrom's patience. Drama happens in the background. Not depicted: Frederick freaking out at Nowi's pebble throwing.**

**Oh, Nowi... Writing her future romance will be a lot less awkward now that she's just a young looking high school student. Also, Cordelia. Girl's got some angst we've yet to reveal.**

**Next time: Fall Festival! New character(s)! Cordelia vs. Robin battle to the death!**

**Reviews, follows, favorites... I love 'em all!**


	7. Cordelia - Fall Festival

**Author's note:**

**Per usual, I don't own Fire Emblem, Fire Emblem Awakening, or any of its character.**

* * *

**Also, just a little note. The future children are slowly making their way into this fic. Although their hair colors are usually determined by their fathers, most of the pairings are not established in story yet. So as not to spoil anything, the children are going to have the default color given in the promotionals and info pages.**

* * *

**Now the shout outs to my gracious reviewers:**

**Mattariago: Rivalries! And Fall Festival! And a little Tharja you inspired!**

**A Shadow's Lament: So your full name comes out... That would definitely be a twist. All I can say is one or two characters are/will not be all they appear. Cordelia's issues will slowly come to light. Poor baby, but I have to mimic the girl's backstory somehow.**

**Cormag Ravenstaff: It's not your memory! I haven't revealed Cordelia's problem with Robin yet. There's a little hint at it today, though... Annaaaaaa... She's coming. Promise. Also, I'll totally be stalking your profile for that AU.**

**Random Chicky: Thank you! I adore Nowi, so she may pop up a little more than I should let her.**

**Yay for my lovely new follower: Pikapikaluv**

**In other news, hooray for Cormag Ravenstaff, who did a wonderful job beta'ing for me! :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Robin pulled a chair up next to Sumia, as Chrom took Robin's usual place at the front of the band. "Fall Festival stuff," she muttered to Sumia's curious glance. "What even is Fall Festival?"

Eyes shining, Sumia clapped her hands together. Before she could begin, Cordelia replied instead. "It's a sort of club fair. Everyone sets up little booths to attract new members or raise money for some project. Usually the club president organizes it."

Chrom chuckled. "Well, I guess everyone just heard that succinct description." Although she laughed depreciatively, Cordelia sat a little higher in her seat. Placing his hands on Robin's stand, Chrom took his place like it was a podium. "For our booth, well, perhaps Sumia would like to introduce it? It is your idea after all." With a grin, Chrom turned to the flustered brunette. Scrambling to her feet, Sumia knocked over her stand. Righting herself on Chrom's proffered arm, Sumia, beet red, took his place at the front.

"Um… So I was thinking…" Fidgeting with the buttons on her shirt, Sumia looked to Chrom. The boy smiled. "Um, we could sell things. Pies!" Stahl perked up at that. One or two other band members looked intrigued. "I thought maybe we could have a bake sale, of not just pies," she added. As Sumia spoke, she straightened, mimicking Chrom's earlier position. "And the profits we raise could go to buying a uniform shirt. With official shirts, we would stand out better at games. So, umm… yeah, that's what we're doing, I guess." Sumia laughed nervously.

After she finished, Chrom retook his place, nudging a blushing Sumia back to her seat. Robin and Cordelia each smiled at the girl. As Sumia returned to her chair, Chrom said, "Alright, everyone give Sumia some applause for her brilliant idea." The band clapped vigorously.

Sumia buried her reddened face in her hands. "No one's ever called me brilliant before," she mumbled.

After a moment's hesitation, Robin patted the girl's shoulder. "Well, you are, dummy."

"You underestimate yourself," Cordelia added. Brushing some hair over one shoulder, she shot Robin some undecipherable expression. Unsure what she had done, Robin still could not crush the feeling Cordelia disliked her.

"Instead of regular practice today," Chrom said, "We'll be setting up our banner, table decorations, and what not. I've already decided who's doing what, so everyone stay where you are until I call your name." As Chrom ran through his list, the band split into various groups. Finally, Cordelia and Robin were the only two left. "Alright, Cordelia and Robin, you guys are going to either record what dishes people volunteer or sign them up for something," Chrom said.

"You know, I thought we were practicing today." Robin sat her arms on her hips with a glare. "Didn't feel like mentioning that one, huh?" Chrom shrugged. Before Robin could object, he began to wander off.

"Wait," Cordelia called after him. Hobbling towards him, the girl flashed him one of her smiles. "This job doesn't need two people. Let me or Robin take care of it and the other do something helpful elsewhere." Silently, Robin agreed.

However, Chrom did not. Running an arm up and down one sleeveless shoulder, Chrom avoided Cordelia's gaze. He had a tattoo, some symbol Robin noted for the first time but didn't recognize. "Cordelia." He locked eyes with the red-head. At the sudden eye contact, Cordelia stood straighter, smoothing out her skirt. "Relaaaaax." Chrom said the word as an exhale. Wilting a little, Cordelia straightened up quickly. "If I let you have your way, you'd be sending everyone home and doing all their jobs. Let us help." Chrom grinned at her.

"Ah, right." Cordelia rearranged her hair once more, returning Chrom's smile.

"Also," Chrom's deep voice was serious. "You haven't healed yet. This is a quick job, so I want you to do it and go home. If you feel like you're placing too much stress on that foot, just sit down. Okay? The only reason I don't have you making fliers is because there aren't any tables in here." Chrom thought for a moment. Cordelia's smile was weakening. "Don't sit on the ground, or help people lift things. Robin, I'm counting on you to keep an eye on her. Just take it easy, Cordelia." Cordelia sighed, but Chrom walked off to join one of the groups.

Digging through her bag, Robin pulled out one of her notebooks. Cordelia drummed her fingers against her crutch. "C'mon. We should probably just start in the corner and circle our way around," Robin said. Cordelia jerked up. Evidently, Robin had interrupted some serious thought.

"Is there another way to do it?" Ignoring that, Robin waited for the girl to move. Cordelia began to maneuver around the stands and bags. As people had begun to retrieve writing supplies, the bags had slowly encroached the rest of the floor. Moving to collect some of the backpacks, Robin felt a little guilty watching the red-head struggle. "I can do this," Cordelia snapped. With a raised eyebrow, Robin dropped Maribelle's handbag on the girl's chair. In her peripherals, Robin could see Sumia watching them carefully. Cordelia scowled. Sighing again, she hung her head. When she rose it, the girl was smiling pleasantly. "Sorry. Thank you for your help, Robin, but I don't need it." Gaius pulled Sumia away, out of Robin's sight.

Cordelia inched between Lissa's backpack and the girl's stand. Watching her wiggle around Lissa's obstacle course, Robin strode ahead of the girl. As she hovered at the end of the row, Robin waited for Cordelia. "Look. This is going to take all day. It's not your fault everyone upended their bags. Just…" Cordelia hobbled over Lon'qu's last water bottle. The girl's triumphant grin quickly slid off at Robin's gaze. "That would have been a lot faster if you just let me help." Cordelia snatched Robin's notebook from her hands and started towards the first group.

Maribelle's fliers had the best handwriting. Looking up from her flowing script, Maribelle returned to her sign making at the sight of Robin and Cordelia. Ricken's were eloquent as well. His face scrunched in concentration, the boy did not seem to notice their approach. "…Need something?" Lon'qu grunted. His fliers were direct, big, black letters outlining pep band responsibilities. Next to Lissa's, Maribelle's, and Ricken's stacks, his was easily the highest.

"Yeah, actually," Robin said. With a tsk, Maribelle looked up from her sign. Holding a colorful flier Robin supposed was finished, Lissa grinned expectantly. "…Nice?" Best as Robin could tell, it was a collection of colorful blobs. A few of those may have comprised a person

As Maribelle plucked it from Lissa's grasp, the girl pouted at Robin. "It certainly… has its charms." Ricken peered over her shoulder but said nothing. Passing it to Lon'qu, Maribelle glanced to Robin. Evidently, it was indecipherable to Maribelle and Ricken as well.

"…It's you." Lon'qu squinted at Lissa's picture some more. "…And that's… a saxophone. And Chrom over there. Good work." Lon'qu placed the paper on Lissa's stack. To Robin, it still looked like a collection of colorful blobs. Studying the paper, Cordelia seemed stumped.

"Obviously," Lissa huffed. "You're the only one here with an eye for art, Lon'qu."

Indignant, Maribelle set her current flier to the side. "Yes, well, I need something from you guys first," Robin piped up. "What are you bringing on Friday?"

As they finished, Robin turned to Cordelia. The girl was struggling to balance the notebook, record everyone's info, and keep the crutch in its place. Robin sighed. "Just let me—"

"No," Cordelia replied coolly. "I have this under control." Finishing Lissa's entry, Cordelia studied the pen. With the crutch, the girl could not return it to its clipped position in the metal of the spiral notebook. After tucking the pen behind her ear, Cordelia led the way to the next crowd of people.

In the middle of a collection of printed papers, Robert scowled, Virion sitting at his side, Tharja hovering over his shoulder. Stepping around their paperwork, Robin bent at Virion's side. Cordelia hovered at the edge of the paperwork. "Hey," Robert said. "Robin, Cordelia, what's up?"

"Chrom needs to know what we're bringing to the bake sale on Friday," Robin said.

"He has us planning out the shifts. Turns out everyone here is in loads of other activities." Robert sighed. "Anyways, is there anyone you guys wanted to work with? I think I've already filled Sumia's. Sorry."

"Is…Ah, never mind." Robin felt stupid vocalizing it.

"Cordelia?"

The red-head smoothed out her skirt again. "I… um… You can just fit me wherever."

Chuckling, Robert shook his head. "You two are awfully similar in some regards. You sure? I haven't assigned him yet." At the mention of 'him,' Cordelia's blush deepened.

"It's okay, my dear," Virion said. Running a hand through his hair, the boy winked at the red-head. "When faced with my magnificence, most find it—"

"Does someone hear a fool's prattling?" Tharja glared at Virion. With a dramatic sigh, Virion returned to the paperwork. From their time spent in Robert's company, it appeared the two had developed an odd companionship. After collecting their information, Robin looked to Cordelia. While still attempting to juggle slightly too much, Cordelia managed the writing much quicker.

Stahl, Donnel, and the tall boy, Kellam, Robin had to remind herself, were making more fliers. After signing them up and learning most of the left over members were out collecting tables, Robin made her way to Sumia and Gaius. The two were working on opposite ends of a banner. At the pair's approach, Sumia waved, splattering paint in the process. With a groan, Sumia dropped her paintbrush back in the paint can. "Gaius…"

"Crivens, Stumbles. Are those more paint splashes?" Gaius wiped his paint stained hands on his jeans. Sidling over to the brunette, Gaius placed a hand on his chin. Studying the banner, the boy grimaced. From her overhead angle, Robin could see Gaius's end with its hideous handwriting and Sumia's, which looked like the girl had experimented with splatter paint. "We'll just have to tell Chrom this was on purpose." Running his fingers through his hair, Gaius looked to Robin. "Whaddya want, Bubbles?"

Gaius's paint-stained hands were leaving a black trail across his face and pants. Deciding it did not clash too horribly with the rest of him, Robin chose not to mention it. "I need to know what you guys are bringing on Friday," she said.

"Me," Gaius said as Robin scowled at him. "My wonderful presence?"

"Will you be for sale Gaius? I'd be more than happy to unload you on someone."

"Would anyone buy him though?" Robin couldn't hide her burst of laughter, as Cordelia looked down on Gaius icily. It appeared he had done something to irk Cordelia as well.

"See this, Stumbles? Your friends are bullies." As Gaius pouted, Sumia patted the boy on the head with a poorly hidden smile. Rolling her eyes, Robin could feel herself anyways. Behind her, Cordelia sighed. "I'll bring fudge," Gaius muttered. "No one appreciates me," he added to Sumia.

"Pooooor Gaius," Sumia teased. "I appreciate you. Don't worry." Gaius stuck his tongue out at Robin and Cordelia. "I'll bring a pie. Rhubarb maybe?"

Returning to their seats, Robin was unsure what to do. Chrom had yet to return, and most of the work was already being done. As she sat down, Cordelia tossed a backwards glance to Gaius. "He's only going to get her in trouble," the red-head muttered. Robin shrugged. While Gaius was a pain, he seemed good-natured at heart. "If you were her friend, you would agree with me." Shifting her glare from Gaius to Robin, Cordelia brushed some hair over her shoulder. Despite the girl's efforts, her red locks seemed determined to fly away.

"Sumia can do what she wants," Robin replied. She could feel the tension from the past few days returning. Breaking her thoughts, the band door clicked opened. Thankful for the distraction, Robin turned her head. "Oh, Gregor, is there something I can help you with?"

Waving some paperwork at the pair, Gregor gave them a kind smile, intimidating on his rugged face. "Here. Gregor is needing this for the booth. Easy work." As Robin rose to her feet, Cordelia limped after her. "Oi. Is Cordelia now in band?"

Cordelia nodded. "I must have dropped the paperwork by the office when you weren't around Gregor. Sorry." Gregor led the pair out to the hallway. On a nearby windowsill, Robin began to fill out Gregor's papers, simple questions on the nature of the booth.

Frowning, Gregor folded his arms across his chest. "Gregor is thinking band and soccer on same days…" Cordelia laughed, but it sounded unusually high. "Flavia also be telling Gregor things… Cordelia is team captain of the soccer team, yes? The ankle—"

"Is feeling just fine, actually," Cordelia said. The girl was drumming her fingers against her crutch again. Even with her back turned, Robin could hear the rhythmic beating of finger on wood. "Thank you for your concern." Cordelia was probably granting Gregor one of her gracious smiles.

Thrusting the paperwork back to Gregor, Robin frowned. "Here. Bye, Gregor." The older man shrugged but left quietly. Turning to Cordelia, Robin found the girl scowling at the ground. "I got rid of the meddling old man for you. Now let's get a move on."

Quickening her fingers, Cordelia whipped her head back up. Barely taller than Robin, Cordelia seemed to tower over the girl. "Don't think this act of kindness endears you to me. I don't need your false pity."

"I didn't—"

Fixing her hair once more, Cordelia rolled her eyes at Robin. "I'm no fool. You're all liars. Just stay away from me, and stay away from Sumia."

"You don't get to—" However, Cordelia was already striding, best she could with her crutch, back into the music room. Trailing off, Robin scowled at the girl's mess of hair. Unwilling to carry their budding argument into Sumia's hearing range, Robin followed Cordelia silently.

* * *

Clustered in one corner of the music room, the pep band organized themselves around the official school band and the school's miscellaneous music groups on Friday. As Chrom, Sully, Frederick, and Vaike heaved the tables, and Nowi, perched on Chrom's and Frederick's table, back into the hall, Stahl and Robin followed them with a pair of chairs. "So I saw we're going to be last shift buddies," Stahl said.

"Don't get any ideas," Robin replied. "You aren't eating the pies on my watch." Smiling, Stahl placed his chair next to Robin's. As tables were set up and the hall began to fill, band members drifted off gradually. Placing his plate of brownies at one end of the table, Stahl wandered down one end of the hall. "I have to meet with the swim team, but I'll be back. Come see us," Stahl called over his shoulder to Robin. Hastily setting down a case of bottled water, the tall boy, Kellam, jogged after him. Robin supposed they were in the swim team together.

As the table began to fill with delicious smelling baked goods, Sully and Vaike took the chairs on the other side. Now that their display was complete, Robin winced at the visual effect. Gaius's and Sumia's banner, while emblazoned with 'Pep Band' in large dark letters, was just as disastrous looking as it had been while they were painting it. Out of the fliers, only Maribelle's, Ricken's, and someone else's, Stahl's or Kellam's perhaps, were visually appealing. Sully seemed to be thinking the same. "At least the food looks good," she said. Reaching for a cookie, Vaike grunted in agreement. "Oi!" Sully smacked his hand. Looking to Robin, Sully added, "We've got it here. I think Lissa wants to show you around."

The blonde had been hovering silently behind Robin, but at Sully's words, Lissa looped Robin's arm through her own. "It was going to be a sneak attack, Sully." With a quick pout, Lissa waved to Sully and Vaike. "Let's goooo," Lissa cried, pointing Robin down one end of the hall. The bell for third period, today Fall Festival, chimed as Lissa skipped down the hallway, Robin half-jogging after her.

As students began to mill through the hallways, Robin felt a little lost in the commotion. "It's more an event for freshmen than anything else," Lissa cried over the roar of the crowd. Squeezing between a cluster of chattering students, Robin was grateful for Lissa's little hand on her arm. Not that she would say it, of course. "So this is my first—Oooo! There's Virion manning the chess club table," Lissa chirped, waving at the boy. Oblivious to his attempts to flirt, a girl was deep in conversation with him. At Lissa's voice, Virion looked up to wave at the pair before the crowd whisked them away.

A few tables down, Lissa tugged Robin across the hall to another setup. Only the girl's surprisingly strong grip kept Robin from being buffeted by the flow of the crowd. "Maribelle," Lissa squealed, "Your table looks adorable." Sitting on the other side of a pink and lace bedecked table, Maribelle flipped some curls over her shoulder. Before they could get closer, the crowd swept Lissa and Robin away.

As they approached another table, black draped, Robin could barely spy Tharja in the middle of the crowd, an array of tarots cards fanned over the table. At the center, Robert, surrounded by a throng of students too packed to maneuver through, watched on in fascination as Tharja said something to him. Guiding her around the crowd, Lissa mouthed 'occult club' before pulling Robin to another table. "Lon'qu," Lissa cried.

With a wave and some bouncing, Lissa tugged Robin to the fencing table. The crowd thinned, likely intimidated by the trio sitting at the table. Glancing at the paper handouts, Robin could tell Lon'qu wrote them all. The boy, with several feet between him and his two female tablemates, glared at the female passersby, softening his features at the sight of Lissa. In the middle, a girl with a bob Robin recognized from cross-country studied her with a critical eye. Folding her arms across her chest, the girl remained quiet. "Oh, Lucina, I didn't know you fenced." At the right of the quiet girl, another looked to Lissa with a slight smile. "Lucy's my cousin," Lissa said, pulling Robin to the right. "This is Robin."

"Pleased to meet you," Lucina said with a nod. With the same hair and confident bearing, Lucina looked like a female version of Chrom, if more reserved. Her aloof gaze seemed to be intimidating any visitors not scared away by Lon'qu's scowl or the middle girl's appraisal.

"Alright, Lucy, Lon'qu, Robin and I wanna see everything else. See ya," Lissa chirped, pulling Robin away once more. Between Lissa's tugging and the push of the crowd, Robin was beginning to feel like a rag doll. Skipping by the student council, Lissa waved to Chrom. With relief, Robin saw Cordelia, who she recalled as Chrom's second in command, was not there.

"Oh, hang on. That's the swim team over there." Robin pointed to one of the far tables. Surrounded by a small crowd, Robin could barely see Stahl and Kellam in the middle. The girl chewed on her lip. Stahl had invited her to say hello, but now that the moment came, Robin could not think of a pretense to approach their table. While Lissa had done it at the past few tables, to just say hello felt silly. Students, some with sharp elbows, crowded around the halted girls, now an obstacle.

Following her finger, Lissa rocked up and down giddily. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go." Before Robin could object, Lissa was ducking around arms, taking Robin with her. Threading through some students, Lissa brought herself and Robin to the front of the table. "Boo!"

Kellam jumped. With a little wave, he smiled hesitantly at the girls before returning to his conversation. Deep in his own discussion with some other students, Stahl did not look up. One hand holding back his perpetually messy hair, the other gesturing something, the boy glowed with enthusiasm. The crowd of students, a large number of them female, Robin noted, was enthralled. As Lissa poked her in the ribs, Robin suddenly felt rather stupid. "We said hi," she mumbled. "Now let's go. They're busy."

Lissa stopped her poking. "Eh? Are you—"

"Let's go." Robin wiggled back into the flow of moving students, Lissa trailing after her.

"But Robiiiiiin," Lissa tugged Robin back to the swim team. "Oh wait!" The girl perked up instantly. "There's Cordelia. Let's say hi to her, too." As Lissa led Robin to the Science Olympiad booth, Robin regretted the decision to leave the swim team.

Rather than the chaos of handwritten fliers at the pep band table, the Science Olympiad team had organized stacks of printed works, with small displays of various events. "Cordelia," a rather chipper Goth called, "Look, fresh meat. Nyah ha ha." His dark clothes only accentuating his pale skin, the boy smiled widely at them. Lissa returned the smile, as Cordelia joined the boy at his side. "I'm Henry. Wanna join Science Olympiad?"

"Don't worry about them, Henry," Cordelia said, shifting her crutch. Whether the comment was intended to be demeaning or not, Robin frowned. "This is Lissa…" The blonde waved at Henry. "And this is Robin. We're in band together."

"Wowzers! I didn't know you were musical, Cordelia." Although Henry seemed in earnest, Cordelia gave him another of her hollow smiles. Robin wondered how many other people found that smile off-putting. It seemed Henry did, too, and at Cordelia's expression his own stiffened. Straighting her hair, Cordelia gave Robin a sidelong glance.

"Well, this was nice, Lissa," Robin announced. "Let's head back to the band table. Your shift starts soon." While she did not vocalize it, Robin could feel Cordelia wishing her away. Lissa scrunched her face in a pout, but waving to Henry and Cordelia, the girl let Robin tug her back from where they came.

* * *

Leaving Lissa at the band table, Robin spent most of third period browsing the tables with Robert, Sumia, and whoever was free at the moment. As the number of students wandering the halls began to dwindle, Robin took her seat at the pep band table. It appeared the last fifteen minute shift was devoted to the stragglers.

"You're late," Stahl declared. Munching on a cookie suspiciously familiar to some on one of the pep band plates, the boy flopped over on the table. Now mostly empty, the table was graced with a few remnants of food and a large number of Lissa's fliers. Only Sully's blackened concoction, which she claimed was a plate of blueberry muffins, remained untouched. "And you missed Cordelia nearly smack Gaius for stealing a slice of Sumia's pie." Evidently, Gaius liked living dangerously.

Paying out a customer, Stahl threaded a hand through his olive locks. As the student left, Stahl seemed devoted to making little patterns in the ripples of the tablecloth fabric. It was brocade, unusually soft, and probably provided by Maribelle. "You said hi to Kellam," Stahl said abruptly. His arm obscured his face, hand still tangled in his messy hair.

Chewing on her lip, Robin could feel her own face heating up again. "I waved. You were busy." Another student bought the last of Donnel's carrot cake. While Robin paid him out, she could feel Stahl studying her. "Isn't there somewhere else to look?" Stahl returned to his creation of ripple patterns. "I just…" It was important to say something. Robin only needed to glance at the boy's unusual stoic face to understand that he deserved an explanation.

Fumbling for the right words, Robin crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair. "You looked so engaged that I couldn't bring myself to interrupt you." Her lower lip was beginning to feel a little raw. "…And then the crowd… You have a little fan club, Stahl." Robin attempted to be humorous, but in her ears, it sounded a little forced.

The boy laughed at that. "That's Chrom's fan club." Peaking out over the curve of his arm, Stahl's smile cheered Robin. Slightly. Not that she would admit it. "One of the side effects of befriending Chrom, as I am surprised you have yet to learn, is that students of both genders will harass you for information on him. As it so happens, while Chrom is not a member of the swim team because of his other sports commitments, he usually swims laps alongside us." Robin raised an eyebrow. "Sportsy people… Anyways, after I gave them the recruitment speech, a good half grilled me on the best angle from which to observe Chrom's biceps glistening in the chlorine. Wanna know which one?"

Robin snorted. "Whaddya think?" The hall was nearly deserted. Club members trailed back to the tables that still remained, beginning the cleaning process. While Chrom's biceps, which Robin would never admit rather suited him, did not merit questioning, the boy's tattoo did. However, now that the usual atmosphere between her and Stahl had returned, Robin was unwilling to break it.

"Were you—" Looking up, Robin watched Stahl trail off, instead waving to Chrom and Sumia.

Sumia gave them a finger-wiggly wave. Meandering up to the table, the girl plucked the roster sheet from under one of the plates. After a quick glance, Sumia held it out for Chrom, Robin, and Stahl to see. From across the table, most of it was illegible. "We filled it up." Wringing her hands together, a grinning Sumia began to twist the roster, before Chrom rescued it from her grasp. "Oh! Sorry."

Studying the now slightly crumpled paper, Chrom looked up with a confident air. "Looks like we've doubled our size." With a pleading gaze to the ceiling, Robin just hoped the majority of these people could actually play an instrument. As Stahl stood up, Robin mimicked him. Although the school clubs had the entire fourth period to clean up, most of the tables were gone or going.

The four, joined by Gaius, quickly cleaned away the table, chairs and baked goods. Between Stahl and Gaius, the only plate to be thrown away was Sully's blackened… something. As Stahl left for his class, the remaining band members lingered in the hallway. Gaius began to drift off, but Sumia snagged his shoulder before the boy got too far. "Hang on, Gaius." Liberating a slice of her pie from the boy's precarious tower of sweets, Sumia held it out to Chrom. "Here." Rather pink, the brunette thrust the paper plate at Chrom with both hands. "It's your favorite, as a thank you for your kind words a few days ago." Running a hand up and down his arm, Chrom seemed hesitant.

"Like hell," Gaius growled. Before Robin could stop him, Gaius whipped the pie out of Sumia's grasp, just as Chrom reached for it. "I got it first, Stumbles. If Chrom wanted the pie he should've grabbed it when he got the chance." Mouth wide open, Sumia just stared at him. "Sweets are serious business." Glaring at Sumia, who was still horrorstruck, and Chrom, who looked a little bemused, Gaius licked the pie slice. "Mine." Robin just rolled her eyes. Resolving to let Chrom sort out that headache, Robin wandered off to class, musing over the new band members, who were likely to provide her with a headache of her own, and Cordelia, who was promising to be trouble as well.

* * *

**Little mentions of almost all the band members today and a few supports happening in the background!**

**Hang tight for the debut of a few future children, a parent (or two?), and perhaaaaps... Chrom's fan club! Let's face it. Would this be a high school AU without one?**

**Per usual, I love hearing all of your opinions through reviews, favorites, follows, and PMs. I am a silent reader, so I understand if you all don't, but feel free to plug for your favorite pairings, some interaction you want to see, or anything that strikes your fancy.**


	8. Chrom - High School Star

**Author's note, skip if it doesn't strike your fancy:**

**First, more future children today. Let me remind you that in favor of avoiding spoilers, all of the children have their promotional hair color. For the most part, this is their mother's hair color. Additionally, they will not be future children.**

**Second, to those of you looking for AUs: news! Cormag Ravenstaff has a fun one, Impossible Emblem, that the author just started. It's a secret agent/detective AU that I thoroughly encourage you check out. Also, Mattariago has collected the Fire Emblem AUs floating around and put them in one community, Fire Emblem: Alternate Universes. I encourage you all to check it out as well. I am a staff member, so if you have a story you want to suggest, contact me.**

**To my generous reviewers:**

**Cormag Ravenstaff: I'll take you up on that! Good luck on your story, loving it so far.**

**pureshadow013: Gaius has his priorities straight. Sweets before all the things.**

**Random Chicky: Children! And a Chrom fanclub! :)**

**A Shadow's Lament: Lucina is tricky. Unfortunately, she doesn't appear more in this chapter, but I have plans for her in the future. As for Chrom's love interest, his is slightly more flexible. While playing the game, I liked all of his supports, so I'm currently gauging reader reactions to my work and listening to what the fans think. Sumia's is... well, it's planned to a point. I don't want to spoil things, but it'll come up again soon. Not much Cordelia in this chapter... a good thing? haha**

**Mattariago: Thanks!**

**12346: No 5? Heh, anyways, there are just so many characters that it becomes hard to include them in every chapter! Virion is one of my particular favorites ( VirionxFeMC is actually one of my favorite pairings), and he's going to get his time to shine. :)**

**Whisper6636: Virion was totally talking to one of the new band members, but I'm not going to tell you who yet! And Henry is adorable. As soon as I found him on my first playthrough, I instantly regretted my marriage.**

**NuuNuu: Henry x Olivia... I've heard quite a lot of that. Personally, I prefer her with Chrom, but I might do some experimenting. As far as same sex pairings, there was one specific one I was thinking of using. However, I was planning on proceeding with caution before I turned it serious or added any others.**

**Shout out to my new followers: pureshadow013, ilovedogs12, Kiiroi Senko, shadow wolf demon, ASiriusWriter01, Blazengirl410, , kyurikochan**

**Further thanks to my favoriters!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Massaging her temples, Robin leant on her conductor's stand. "Let's regroup in ten," she said. As Robin groaned, the now unusually large trumpet section clustered around Chrom. The girl sitting next to him, rather pretty chestnut hair, horrible tone quality, gestured to the music they had been practicing. Chrom began to explain something, sitting a little straighter as another girl placed a hand on the back of his chair.

"They're obviously not here to practice," Cordelia's voice was a hiss, nearly lost in the chatter surrounding Chrom. "Robin, send them away." Fidgeting with her music, Sumia cast a concerned glance towards the boy. Lissa and Robert were outright staring.

Robin sighed. Cordelia was correct. "I can't just do that," Robin said. The Science Olympiad president huffed and smoothed out her hair.

"They're distracting everyone," Cordelia growled. When the new members had been introduced, it had started well. Kjelle, Libra, Owain, all reasonable individuals with reasonable talent, or at least obvious interest. The rest only had eyes for Chrom. "Robin."

Just shut up, Cordelia. "Oi! Take your paw off him before I do." Sully, teeth clenched, lurched up from her seat. Behind her, Frederick rose as well. Springing to his feet, Stahl stood between Sully and Frederick and the crowd. A trumpet girl froze, one hand on Chrom's shoulder. "Don't think I'll hit a girl?"

"Sully," Chrom said. From the front, Chrom was a little sliver in the crowd of girls. While Robin could not see him, the boy sounded strained. "It's really nothing. They just needed some—"

"Oh, I know just what they need." With a growl, the girl elbowed around Stahl. Wrapping a hand around her elbow, Stahl slowed her but could not stop Frederick, too. As the Frederick edged around Stahl, Cordelia rose to her feet, and Vaike lumbered around a yawning Gaius.

"Enough," Robin said. All eyes on her, the girl dragged her hands across her face. Frederick, Vaike, and Sully stopped. Deflating, Robin slumped over her stand. "Practice is over for the day. Just go."

The band packed up in silence, and Robin let them leave. Robert lingered but left at her insistence. Straightening up, Robin sighed at the chairs and stands left by Chrom's fan club. Instead of clearing up, the girl inched around the obstacle course to take a seat at the piano. Rising and falling through scales and then her Schumann concerto, Robin let her eyes drift shut. When she reopened them, the room was organized, and Chrom sat by her side. "What do you want?" she asked.

"I can't get out." Chrom propped his chin on his hand and surveyed the window. Watching the clouds drift by, Chrom sighed, but it was a contented sigh. "Those girls are still out there. I think I'll just wait here until they get bored." The boy stretched out and leaned against a corner of the piano.

Robin could talk to him. Instead she returned to the piano. After ten minutes of Chrom's fleeting glances, Robin shut the piano key case. "Chrom?" The boy hastily looked back out the window. "I don't want to play games today. I ran through my patience earlier," Robin said.

Clenching and unclenching his fists, Chrom hesitated. Instead, he continued to look out the window. The sun was lowered in the sky, and Robin found it easier to watch Chrom watch the sky than to watch the sky herself. "I want to apologize," Chrom said. "For the girls."

Robin rolled her eyes. "Whatever. It's not your fault."

Chrom grimaced. "They caused you trouble," he said. "I can never to bring myself to tell those girls to go away, and all it does is cause trouble for everyone else."

Rising to her feet, Robin looked to Chrom. "It's beyond your control. C'mon, let's go." Chrom leant over and picked up his and Robin's bag. Too tired to argue, Robin followed Chrom with their bags out the music room.

Loitering in the hallway, a few musicians remained. At Robin's and Chrom's footsteps, a brunette twirled some hair around her finger. "Chrom," she said. The boy smiled, but an arm drifted up to trace his tattoo. "I—We…" The girl gestured to the remaining members, a smattering of boys and girls, all drawn to Chrom. "We wanted to thank you for your help today." With an easy smile, Chrom stepped back as the brunette stepped forward.

"Chrom, watch it," Robin said. Tugging her foot from under Chrom's sneaker, Robin scowled. The brunette tilted, casting a curious look.

"I… Oh, sorry, Robin. We were on our way out," Chrom said. Twisting to check up on Robin, Chrom missed his fan club's faces fall. "Sorry, but I'm walking Robin home today."

"Eh? I—"

"Are you two dating?" asked another girl, hands twisted in her frilly dress. The rest cast Chrom beady stares.

"No," Robin deadpanned. The brunette, perhaps the leader, definitely one of the most forward, continued her study of Robin. Crossing her arms, Robin raised an eyebrow.

"Robin and I are friends," Chrom said. However, his face was already a little pink, and Chrom fidgeted with his tattoo more intensely. "No offense to you, Robin. You're very pretty." The brunette snorted, daintily, softly, but Robin heard it anyways. Chrom caught Robin's scowl. "But not my type! I would never call you pretty to your face. Or anywhere. I—I mean, really it's irrelevant. You're like a male Robert. Except a ladylike Robert. Because you're a lady. A classy lady. A lady I could date. But who I wouldn't date." Lobster red, Chrom seemed to have run out of breath. Resisting the urge to smack her head against the nearest wall, Robin prayed this revelation of Chrom's awkward nature disillusioned his fan club.

"So she's your secret girlfriend," the brunette said. Squinting at Robin, the brunette huffed.

"N-no. She's Robert's, my friend's,: sister," Chrom said. Grabbing Robin's wrist, he tugged her through the crowd. "Let's go, Robin. I need to get you home." The fan club parted, but Robin could feel their glares and stepped over a few conveniently placed feet.

* * *

At lunch on Tuesday, Robin took a large bite from her sandwich as Sumia picked at hers. "Hey," Sumia said. "Isn't that Cynthia?" The pigtailed girl was the newest mellophone. As Sumia waved, the Cynthia bounded over, hair bouncing.

"Heeeey," Cynthia said. Plopping next to Robin, Cynthia shot a pearly white grin at the pair. "What's up?"

Sumia smiled. "Oh, I just wanted—"

"Cool," Cynthia said. Whipping her head to Robin, Cynthia frowned. "I heard a rumor."

Sumia looked between the pair. Robin felt her appetite sneak away. "I think Sumia—"

"You and Chrom are dating."

"Ehhhhh?" Sumia was staring at her. A few of the people sitting next to them were eavesdropping. Robin could feel it. Hunching a little in her seat, she scowled at Cynthia. The girl, her little nose turned up in the air, frowned.

"That's—"

"I know you think Chrom is all yours, but he's not," Cynthia said.

"Wait—"

"He's mine, too. Chrom was my hero first." Springing from her seat, Cynthia thrust a finger out at Robin. Sumia was still gaping, fishlike. "I guess this makes us rivals, Robin. Good—Wait, Owain!" Cynthia scrambled off. "I'll be back," the girl yelled over her shoulder. Turning to Sumia, Robin chewed on her lip. The girl was rather interested in her sandwich.

"Look, Su—"

"I can't believe you didn't tell me," Sumia wailed. Tossing down her sandwich, Sumia glared at Robin.

"Wait. That's—"

"Robiiiiiiiin, I thought we were friends. Oooooo, silly Sumia, why would someone like Robin trust plain ol' you?" Sumia stood up and crammed her sandwich into her bag. "I'll just leave you to your lunch, Robin."

"But—" Sumia was already out of earshot. Groaning, Robin glared at a nearby eavesdropper. Despite the cafeteria chatter, lunch felt silent without Sumia's cheery voice. Robin settled for frowning at the unusually large number of curious glances thrown in her direction.

* * *

It was a slight disappointment to see Sully had not beaten Chrom's admirers into a bloody pulp. Thankfully, Sully had at least scared them enough to prevent them from groping the boy. Instead, his admirers seemed devoted to harassing Robin. At first, it was faces. By the end of practice, it was verbal insolence. To make matters worse, Sumia was avoiding her gaze. As Chrom announced that the band would play at Sully's lacrosse match, Robin wanted to smack the boy for his awkwardness and his fan club for their jealous nature.

"I'm serious, Blue. If you wanna avoid your fan club, you'll jump out this window." Gaius leaned against the sill as Chrom inched away. Frederick loomed over Gaius, but the boy simply twirled his lollypop. "I've done it loads of times, and lookie here, I'm fine."

"You've clearly sustained brain damage," Frederick growled. Peering out the window to the grass two floors below, Chrom shook his head and resumed pacing.

"Let's send down one of the expendables as a trial run," Gaius said, "Hey, Cynthia." Pigtails bouncing, the girl trotted towards him. Before Cynthia got three steps, Sumia grabbed her wrist. "But Stumbleeeees—"

"I wanna help Chrom," Cynthia said. With a little pout, the girl looked up to Sumia. Sumia ignored her.

"I could go out there," Virion said. At his side, Tharja groaned. "All women swoon at the sight of my magnificence."

"Why's it matter anyways? D-don't you have a girlfriend?" Bright red, Cordelia was rather flustered. "They were talking about it in math." Fixing up her hair and skirt, Cordelia began to fidget with the buttons on her shirt. Sully rolled her eyes, and Sumia's face fell.

"Robin's not my girlfriend." Chrom turned to her, tired look on his face. This was not his first denial, evidently.

"But—"

"Chrom, just c'mon," Sully said. Grabbing the boy's wrist, Sully pulled Chrom towards the door. "Any of them says anything, I punch their teeth in." The band lingered. Continuing with her button fiddling, Cordelia sighed. With a sigh of his own, Gaius closed the band window. "Well, you guys coming?" Robert shuffled hesitantly, and Lissa punched the boy's arm with a grin. "Oh for the luvva…" Dropping Chrom's wrist, Sully glared at the band. "Hurry the hell up."

Cutting a brunette contrast in the white band walls, Sumia twisted her messenger strap by the door. "Um… I… um…"

Robin heaved her bag over her shoulder. "Don't even worry about it, Sumia," she said. "C'mon, let's go." With her head down, the brunette trailed after Robin. Chrom's fan club had left.

On Wednesday, the number of fan club members in band decreased dramatically. The new members were beginning to settle in. Libra managed Lissa's and Maribelle's envious glares directed at his delicate features. Although unable to shake the feeling someone sat at her left, Kjelle, the new tuba player, made an intimidating duo with Frederick on her right. Owain's enthusiasm sparked Lon'qu's competitiveness, and a student-mentor relationship bloomed between the two. Cynthia threw Robin an exaggerated wink as the conductor took her stand.

Flipping through her stack of scores, Robin dug through the pile for the pieces the band was playing on Friday. Cordelia drummed her fingers against her crutch. On the fourth shuffle, Robert inched up to Robin. "Is something wrong?" he asked. The band was restless, and his whisper was just audible over their fidgeting.

"I can't find my scores for Friday," Robin hissed. Hand to her chin, Robin watched Robert ruffle through her stack of scores. "I sorted everything yesterday. I didn't take anything out of my bag last night."

"You're sure you didn't lose something between yesterday and now?" Robert asked. Robin rolled her eyes. "Okay, then." Robin hefted her bag on to Robert's chair with a metallic thunk.

As Robin dug through the worn backpack, Cynthia cleared her throat. Glaring over her shoulder, Robin found the girl directly behind her. "Did you get my note?" Cynthia winked again, slowly and scrunching the entire left side of her face.

Twisting around, Robin towered over the freshman. "Cynthia, explain," she said. Robin's snarl could be heard throughout the now silent band room.

Cynthia twirled a brunette pigtail around one finger. "I put a note in your locker," she replied. Scuffing at the ground, Cynthia shot Robin puppy-dog eyes. "I slipped it through the grating. It was a dramatic warning." The groan of a chair sliding on tile pulled Cynthia's gaze. "We're rivals," Cynthia said, "but that doesn't mean I support dirty tricks. Our fight should be honorable, battle-to-the—"

Grabbing the girl's shoulders, Robin halted Cynthia's air punches. "Wait. Are you saying-" Robin spun on her heel. The band remained in their seats. Chrom shrugged, and one girl, the brunette from a few days ago, clutched at her bag. "You. Empty your bag."

The girl pouted. "Chr—"

"Now."

The brunette turned to Chrom. Nearly leaning into his lap, the girl begged silently. Chrom shrunk away, but said nothing. "You should do as she says," he said.

Scowling, the brunette pushed herself into a sitting position. "You think you're so great. All musical, and smart, and girlfriend of the most popular guy in school. You're not even that pretty," the girl snarled. With a glare that contorted her delicate features, the girl sprung to her feet. "You dress like a slob." Robin crossed her arms over her t-shirt. "You're rude." Snatching up her leather messenger bag, the brunette clenched it tightly, sinking her blue nails into the material. "You—"

"Stop." Sumia stood, arms akimbo, a glare on her face. While her cheeks were pink, her voice was steady. "You can't talk to Robin, my friend, like that. I-I mean, sure, she's kinda blunt every now and then… and she doesn't like to trust people… or talk about things..." The room was still, and Robin could feel the band's eyes on her. It was easier to study the floor tiling than meet anyone's eyes. Sumia took a deep breath. "But she's a good person, and I won't let anyone be spoken to that way."

Chrom's admirer scoffed at Sumia. Before the trumpet player could escape, however, Stahl snagged her shoulder. The boy's usually carefree smile held a hint of steel. Placing the scores in his outstretched hand, the girl shrugged his other hand off her shoulder. Twirling out of the room, she slammed the door behind her, wood rattling in the frame. "Anyone else wanna go?" Robin growled.

Stahl returned her scores, and the rest of Chrom's fan club, minus Cynthia, slunk out. Fanning out her music, Robin massaged her temples. Sumia, bright pink, sat down, as Cynthia returned to her seat. Robin barely heard Cynthia's whisper to Sumia about 'her heroic justice,' but she could picture the younger girl's shining eyes and bouncing pigtails. Sumia, it seemed, had just built a fan club of her own. Without Chrom's admirers, practice continued smoothly.

* * *

As the band packed up after Friday night's performance, Robin and Chrom stood outside the band room together. Free hand smoothing his athletic shorts, other grasping the trumpet with whitened knuckles, Chrom grimaced at the darkened lockers. The only lights were the ones from the band room, and the boy could not possibly see anything. "Sorry," Chrom said. His mumble echoed throughout the deserted hall. "For not doing anything about it."

Robin leant against a locker with a sigh. "I told you before. It's no problem."

"But I—"

"Chrom. Those people were visibly harassing you. It made me a little uncomfortable just watching. Seriously, don't even worry about it," Robin said. The pair fell to silence. Robert, chatting amiably with Tharja, needed to hurry up. In the quiet, the hallway seemed even darker. Chrom's fidgeting only intensified. "So what's the tattoo?"

"Huh?" Robin reached over and pulled the boy's jacket sleeve down, revealing the odd symbol on his shoulder. The gesture felt strangely intimate in the dark, and Robin retracted her hand. "Oh, that. It's my sister's design," Chrom said.

"She designs tattoos?" It sounded judgemental, and Robin winced.

Chrom laughed. "She's a member of the Ylissean Central Government and an artist on the side. When we were growing up, our parents were always away, so Emmeryn really raised Lis and me. Anyways, this is one of her favorite doodles, so I got it tattooed, kinda as a combo tribute to her and a 'screw you' to my parents."

Snorting, Robin peaked into the band room. Robert and Tharja looked unusually cozy. "I can't imagine you as rebellious," she said.

Chrom shrugged. "Emm did it for me. It was an odd discovery, learning your older sister moonlights as a tattoo artist. Anyways, Emm is kinda my hero." The boy's blush was just visible in the darkness. "I started the pep band because of her. She was student body president, so I want to be student body president. I want to follow in her footsteps."

Frowning, Robin watched the band room shadows flicker against the chipping blue of the lockers. "What does a pep band have to do with it?"

Chrom leant next to Robin, and one of the lockers under him creaked. "In order to be president, I need to get as many votes as possible. In order to get the votes, I need to be popular with everyone. In order to be popular with everyone, I need to do lots of things. I picked pep band as one of them."

Robin stood up. "So that's it?" Tilting his head, Chrom frowned at her. The boy peaked into the band room before shrugging once more.

"Why do you reckon Lissa is taking so long? What in the world can she and Maribelle have to gossip about this late?" Chrom turned back to Robin. Facing the other wall, Robin chewed on her lip.

"So you could have just as easily formed a school newspaper or a rowing team?" Whirling around, Robin faced Chrom's puzzled expression, one hand tracing Emm's tattoo. "You just happened to pick pep band."

"Yeah. Well, I mean, we were the only school in the district without one," Chrom said. The boy stood up and stuck his head in the band room. "Lis, hurry up. You can call—Yes, well, get Lon'qu's number, and you can call him, too. Just hurry up." Chrom turned back to Robin. "Looks like Robert is getting his stuff together."

Robin turned back down the hallway. She and Chrom stood in the dim light slinking out of the band room. "Music is more valuable than that." The dramatic shadows made Chrom's surprise more expressive.

"Of course. I never meant to imply… Oh, Robert," Chrom trailed off. Robert held the door for Lissa, Tharja, Maribelle, and Lon'qu. As the crowd split, Chrom waved to the twins, Lissa tugging him down the opposite hall. Lost in thought, Robin let Robert's and Maribelle's conversation drift by her.

* * *

**A rather bad case of writer's block hit me this chapter...**

**Anyways, per usual, I love hearing your opinions in any form: reviews, favorites, follows, PMs, etc. Pairing suggestions, favorite characters, anything and everything makes me happy to hear!**

**Thanks for reading, and expect a new chapter soon!**


	9. Cordelia -The Eldest and Lesser Children

**I haven't mentioned it in a few chapters, so queue regular disclaimer from chapter one.**

**Once again, future children feature heavily today. They, for the most part, have their mother's hair color. Kjelle appears some, and just note that her promotional hair is black(?).**

**To my benevolent reviewers:**

**Mattariago: No Tharja this chapter... But let's just say she, Virion, a notebook, and a certain future child are going to feature heavily in the next one. ;)**

**Whisper6636: Heheheh. No unnamed characters this time, so less worry! I'm glad you enjoy my work.**

**A Shadow's Lament: Thanks! And as for incorporating supports, I'm going to try where ever I can, so keep an eye out for 'em.**

** : Thank you! And Robin's romantic partner is a secret. Let's just say the road to love is never straight or smooth!**

**Cormag Ravenstaff: More drama! And Anna will appear, I just can't find the right time, gosh darnit! The struggle is real. :T**

**Random Chicky: Chrom is such a cutie pie. In my head (which I guess is obvious, but whatever), he'd be super confident when it comes to leading people, but super awkward when it comes to fluffy things. Sooooo adorkable. Thanks for the support!**

**Guest: There may or may not be a little more Stahl in this chapter. Maybe. But I'm not saying anything.**

**Alsoooooo, to all my silent readers: I appreciate ya! Somehow I keep forgetting to say it, but your support keeps this story running, too!**

**Shout out to my shiny new followers: , Tcc12374, namelesspenname**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"You and Mom are keeping secrets from me." They were halfway between school and home when Robert halted. Robin strode ahead of him. "Robin." Higher than normal, Robert's voice scared the birds from their early morning perches.

"It's not secret keeping. It's none of your business," Robin said. Tugging on Robin's jacket sleeve, Robert frowned at the cracks in the sidewalk. Through the knit fabric, Robin could feel the warmth of her brother's fingers. "Let go of my sleeve. What are we? Six again?" Neither of the twins moved.

"First you were on the phone with that creepy Plegian instructor—"

"Her name is Madame Aversa, and her piano skills are so renowned she could sacrifice animals to the dark gods and still get performances in Ylistol Central Theatre." Robert sighed, long and heavy, and Robin knew it did not suit him. "I've told you this at least—"

"Then you and Mom talked for hours." As Robert's fingers dug into the fabric, Robin felt the jacket cuff tighten around her wrist.

"I thought you said Mother and I should talk more."

"Do you actually remember when we were six? When we would run around the house playing wizards and warriors, beating up the stuffed animals and couch cushions?" It was a distant haze, but the memory of tiny Robert tumbling over the side of the couch, bested by one of the cushions, and his bloody lip still remained.

"Life goes on, Robert. We moved out of that house. We're not six anymore." The jacket cuff was beginning to feel constricting.

"I remember. Our new house was in the country, and the trees and bushes of the woodlands proved more formidable than plush bears." Robin remembered this, too. "One day, I got lost in the woods." She screamed after him for a good twenty minutes and skinned her knee tripping over a tree root. "There I was, bawling in the middle of the forest, terrified I would be eaten by bears, when you stormed through some bushes, bloody knee and all. You made me hold your sleeve all the way home." Robert was always directionally challenged.

"Yeah, well, you can guide yourself now. You're old enough." Robin could not seem to yank her arm from Robert's hold.

"Are you leaving again?" As his voice wavered, Robert was the little boy clinging to his sister once more.

With a rough, difficult pull, Robin freed her sleeve. "If I were, you would know."

* * *

Henry and Severa joined band on the same day. Flipping one of her twin ponytails over her shoulder, Severa surveyed the band. Cynthia, Owain, and Cordelia all waved, but the girl only acknowledged Kjelle's nod from the back. Dropping a chair next to Chrom, Severa crossed her legs and twisted away from the boy. With his chipper smile, Henry squeezed himself next to Tharja, who shot the happy Goth a suspicious scowl. Leaning over, Henry looked to Cordelia. Cordelia, however, was suddenly rather absorbed in her music. Robert was sulking, and Robin could already sense a headache coming on.

Flowing through her Schumann concerto after practice, Robin couldn't keep her fingers moving. Instead she sat on the stool and stared at the keys, light reflected dully on alabaster. The piano, even trapped in this lonely school, this school where music was an afterthought, where bands were formed to get student body president votes, was beautiful. It was music, class, dedication, all things pure, without fault. Stahl sat down beside her. "I… I'm tired," Robin said.

Stahl hummed in agreement, closed his eyes, and basked in the sunny portion of the bench. "My Plegian piano instructor contacted me this weekend." An eye peeked open, hazel with long lashes Robin was close enough to count. Running a hand up and down the piano keys, Robin sighed. "When I left, I didn't tell them where I was going. My instructor found the band on Tharja's blog. She has one apparently. It's got what books I read any given day, how many times I sighed, the apple I ate two-" Gently, Stahl lowered the key cover, stopping Robin's stroking of the keys.

"And?" he asked, low and soft.

"She wants to see a performance." Stahl leaned on the key cover, but Robin did not have the heart to make him move. From her angle, Robin could find the swirls of brown in his pupils. Stahl could probably recognize the shadows under her eyes, the downward turn of her lips. "Stahl, I..." On the bench, the side of Robin's hand felt warm against his leg. She didn't even remember sliding closer to him.

"Shhh," Stahl said. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, the boy pulled Robin into his chest. The bridge of her nose pressed into his collarbone, and her arm was pinioned on the stool between their legs. However, Robin could not bring herself to move.

"I don't like touching," she said. It was muffled by his shirt, another sci-fi movie, smelling of detergent and soap.

"Well, this is what friends are for." Gingerly, Stahl freed her trapped hand and placed it on the other side of his legs, on the stool. The warmth from his hands, his chest, his collarbone, all seemed to ease away the slowly building stress. Friends… none of her friends at Plegian were quite this.

* * *

Cordelia thrust a paper out to Robin. It jabbed into her middle before Robin could grasp it, but the redhead was too interested in the opposite wall to notice. "I resign," Cordelia said. Glancing into the band room, Robin saw everyone else was oblivious, happily chatting.

"Cordelia?" Tossing some hair over her shoulder, the redhead smiled gently, a hollow smile Robin had not seen in a while. Robin studied the resignation note. The reason, penned in elegant cursive, was 'homework.' Chewing on her lip, Robin watched the redhead hobble away silently. "Well, if this is your decision, it was… nice to have you," Robin called after her.

"We aren't friends," the redhead replied from the end of the hall, "But perhaps, you can be Sumia's." Cordelia met her eyes, but Robin was too far to garner anything from them. "She genuinely cares for you, and when it comes to character… well, you are not morally deficient." Gee thanks, Cordelia. Leaning heavily on her crutch, Cordelia whirled around, red hair twirling behind her.

Cordelia made leaving seem easy, painless. "Where's my sister?" Severa's sharp demand echoed against the lockers. Spinning on her heel, Robin found the redhead poking around the doorway, face stuck in a scowl Robin was starting to think was perpetual. "Don't gape. You look like a fish. So my sister? Cordelia, of the perfect grades, complexion, and sweetness? Little hard to miss," Severa said. With a sneer, the girl pushed by Robin and looked around the hall.

"Excuse you," Robin said. As Severa rolled her eyes, Robin resisted the urge to smack the girl. While Severa and Cordelia had a similar bluntness, Cordelia tempered hers with politeness. Severa studied both ends of the hall, empty but for the lockers. "She resigned. I let her leave a few minutes ago."

Severa spun to face her, a ponytail smacking a locker with a metallic rustle. "Gawds, are you stupid?" Her sneer deepened, and Severa, with her twisted expression, looked a little similar to her sister when upset. "Which way did she go?" Somewhere underneath her exterior, there hid a hint of concern exposed in her voice.

"Down the hall." Severa was gone before Robin finished. Interrupting practice with a slammed door, Severa, scowl in place, returned alone. She and Cordelia were similar, Robin decided. Severa's shirt, a rumpled button up, was unbuttoned to expose several inches of pale skin, but it was obviously Cordelia's, looser in some parts, tighter in others. Severa adjusted her hair, smoothed her pants, fiddled with her buttons. If Robin squinted, the girl's features melded into Cordelia's. Then practice was over. "Robert," Robin said. Severa packed up alone, shrugging off Kjelle's hand on her shoulder. "Let's walk back together today." Her brother nodded.

Leaves rustled in the wind, tinted gold in the slowly setting sun. A town in the middle of nowhere, it smelled of country and nature and dew, and Robert was not talking to her. The boy kicked up a flurry of leaves, crunchy and prematurely dead. "So how's school?" Robin asked.

"Good." Like Cordelia and Severa, Robin supposed she and Robert were similar, too. Skinny, pale, guarded.

"Um…" A battered truck rumbled by, causing a small leaf storm. Fishing a crinkled orange leaf from her hair, Robin folded the leathery fiber into a small boat and let it sail away on the wind. It floated by her brother's shoulder. Robert said nothing. "You taught me that trick. Heh. There weren't too many trees in Plegia Capitol, all concrete and steel. It's nice to see I didn't forget," Robin said.

Where Plegia Capitol had skyscrapers, this little nameless town had parks. There was no Metro here, only the one train that ran through town, and its comings and goings were thrilling events. Robert continued to kick the leaves.

"So…"

"I think I'm going to call Virion." Robert fished his phone from his bag, the same model as Robin's but of a different color.

"You just spoke to Virion at band," Robin said. Robert was a few feet in front of her, but every crack in the pavement was a wall between them. The boy's head was down, fingers skipping on the plastic. "Robert…"

Raising the phone to his ear, Robert glanced over his shoulder. "We have a chess competition this weekend, and I want to make sure we have everything arranged. You see, Virion and I work together, talk to each other, solve things." She tried to formulate a reply, but her tongue was too heavy. The leaves were not quite as bright and the birds not quite as cheery when Robert ignored her. Did Severa and Cordelia feel this same distance now? Robert's words, from weeks ago, whispered that she and Cordelia were similar people. If they were similar, Cordelia felt alone and small.

* * *

Twirling a pencil in one hand, Sumia propped her chin up with the other. The book they were reading lay on the table between them. Class had ended a little early, and the novel was forgotten. "Cordelia never came to band yesterday," Sumia said. The brunette slowed her twirling. "Did she tell you something?"

Yeah, some excuse about homework I'm beginning to doubt, Robin thought. "No," Robin said. Picking up the book between them, she ruffled through the pages. The rough paper against her thumbs was oddly grounding. Robert was still not talking to her. "Severa asked me something similar though. Are they close?" It was an attempt to be nonchalant, but it sounded forced.

"I don't know…" Sumia chewed on her eraser. Pulling it away hastily, the girl sighed. "Bad habit. Anyways, Cordelia doesn't mention her much, and whenever I'm over, Severa never seems to be around." The pencil drifted closer to her mouth once more, and Sumia placed it on the desk with a definitive clack. "I hope she's coming today." Over Sumia's shoulder, Cordelia hobbled by the sliver of cracked door. "Robin?"

She was standing, and Robin could not remember rising from her chair. "I…" Cordelia quit band and was none of her business besides. The girl rather disliked her, as Robin remembered. Life was probably a little simpler now that she was gone. "I…" To argue with a sibling was painful. "I need to use the restroom," Robin said.

Heaving her bag over her shoulder, Robin ignored Sumia's curious glance. As she bolted from the room, Robin nudged chairs and students out of the way, dim clatters in the background. Cordelia was at the end of the hall, but the distance did not seem quite as far as the one between her and Robert. With brisk steps, Robin caught up to the girl. Crutch under one arm, the red head was concentrated on balancing some boxes with the other. "Here. Let me grab that, Cordelia," Robin said.

Cordelia flinched, and the boxes tumbled to the ground with a muffled cardboard smash. "Robin?"

"Ugh, sorry." Bending to the ground, Robin righted the boxes. Papers lay spread across the tiling, and Robin scooped them up in armfuls. Shifting her crutch, Cordelia began to lean down as well. With a wince, the girl knelt on the ground, injured leg splayed out unusually behind her. "It's okay, Cordelia. You-"

"I can do this," Cordelia replied. The breathiness of her voice suggested otherwise.

Now that they were shoulder to shoulder, Robin fumbled at the paperwork. Her throat felt sealed up, dry. "Um… So are these for Science Olympiad?" Cordelia collected paperwork as well, her weight heavily on one hand.

"I'm not really interested…" As Cordelia stretched over to reach a distant paper, her voice stretched as well. "Just, no small talk," she gasped. Paper crumpled in her fist, the girl sat quickly on her uninjured leg and pulled the injured ankle in front of her. The cast was obstructive, covering most of the remaining paperwork. Cordelia, pale and slightly sweaty, studied the pink plaster.

"Just let me help you," Robin said. It was peaceful in the hall. Sunlight reflected off the lockers, and paper rustled against the tiles.

"I don't even like pink," Cordelia muttered. "It clashes with my hair." Robin piled a few more sheets into one of the boxes. "When they were wrapping up my ankle, I told them 'any color but pink, just don't let it be pink.'" Afraid to meet the girl's face, Robin watched Cordelia pick at the plaster of her cast. It was a girlish color, the same shade as a light blush or pale rose. "Sumia sent you, I suppose."

Hunched over her cast, Cordelia looked like a child. "Actually, I came umm… just because?"

"You felt sorry for me," Cordelia said. It was a mockery, and the 'sorry' was long and sweet, with a hint of sour, like some fruit sitting too long in the sun. "Poor, poor Cordelia, all by herself with this hideous cast. She can't even carry some boxes to the faculty room without a knight in shining armor."

Cordelia was both right and wrong. Robin couldn't think of how to vocalize the similarities between Severa, Cordelia, Robert, and herself and rationalize it to the redhead. "You know, Severa said you were sweet."

"That doesn't sound like Severa at all," Cordelia replied, but the girl lifted up her head.

"Well, she's your sister, and she's worried about you. Are you trying to upset her?" Cordelia sighed, and it was Robert's sigh from days ago. It was important to comfort Cordelia. Robin could not explain why, but it was.

"With this stupid cast, she constantly worries about me." Tilting her head backwards, Cordelia studied the ceiling. The speckled squares looked spongy, soft to the touch, but Robin was too short to ever confirm it. "Everyone worries. You, Sumia, Severa, Henry—That's why they joined, you know. Henry gave me some lecture on ducking my responsibilities on Monday after band. Henry, the boy who devotes his Science Olympiad time to poking model hearts, wants to talk to me about skipping meetings." Cordelia scrubbed at her eyes with a shirtsleeve. "I don't know why." Her voice was high and shakey. "He has to follow me around with all the binders. I can't even carry them with this." Cordelia waved a hand aimlessly to her side where the crutch lay. "It'd be easier for him to handle it himself."

Robin chewed on her lip. Stahl, Sumia, Robert, even Chrom could probably solve this. They would say… "It's not your fault, Cordelia. Henry probably doesn't even mind."

"I'm helpless," Cordelia cried. "Of course he minds." Her hysterical exclamation echoed down the empty hall, and Cordelia sighed once more. "I was the star of the soccer team, the captain, and Flavia told me not to come back."

"She's worried, too. Your safety is important to the team," Robin explained patiently. It felt right. If Robert were injured, she would not want him to risk himself for anything.

"They've lost all their games since. I've failed." Cordelia collapsed over her uninjured knee, red hair a haphazard waterfall over her fair skin.

"It's—"

"Not my fault?" Cordelia's sneer was Severa's. "I should have known. I should have been more careful. What good is genius if you can't use it to protect people you care about?" Her sweet and sour tone was back, picking and choosing words to twist. "Everyone slips in to steal the positions I can't fill. I've fallen, and they don't need a useless person." Cordelia seemed exhausted. "Makes sense, really."

"Well, they're probably trying to help. Besides, Henry obviously doesn't think that," Robin said. She didn't know really, but Cordelia shifted some hair to cast her a sidelong glance. Perhaps this comforting people thing was more telling them what they wanted to hear rather than what you actually knew. "And neither does Severa. And Sumia asked me a few minutes ago if you were coming to practice today." Cordelia propped her chin on her knee. Her eyes were red and swollen, cheeks damp, but her eyes themselves were dry. "And… I left the first mello part open. No offense to Sumia and Cynthia, but neither of them can do those high notes justice." At that, Cordelia smiled, a light one and more genuine than all Robin had seen so far. "Umm… So we need you at least, and screw everyone else. You shouldn't pander to them anyways."

Robin rose to her feet and offered Cordelia her hand. Hoisting herself up, the redhead drummed on her crutch as Robin collected up the rest of the papers. With both of the boxes, Robin could barely see over the top. Students were leaking out of their classrooms, and the next period was soon to start. "Perhaps, you're right," Cordelia said. "I… I think I'm going to wash my face. If you want to leave those at the bathroom…" Robin rolled her eyes. Cordelia, slightly taller, could just see it over the boxes. "Or you can take them to the faculty room. O-Or wait for me? Actually, you can do what you want." Fidgeting with her buttons, Cordelia limped down the hall. After a moment, Robin trailed after her.

* * *

It was Friday, and Robin was crammed between Gaius's rather pointy elbow and the fluffy pompoms of an over-enthusiastic lacrosse fan. As Robin learned last Friday, the lacrosse team was wildly popular, mostly due to Sully's ability to knock over every player while looking unusually cool. Chrom and Vaike had already shouted themselves hoarse for the girl, and Frederick, usually reserved, boomed over the crowd now and again. Cordelia, mashed in between Henry and Sumia, looked distant, but she was back. Severa, pointing something to Kjelle, seemed cheered. And Robert was still ignoring her. A light tap on her shoulder, Robin turned around.

It was a reunion she should have expected. Madame Aversa was everything she remembered. Pale hair, the same as Robin's yet somehow more beautiful, the familiar scent of rose, a gentle smile that only strangers labelled as smug, her old instructor looked down on her. Robin's throat felt sealed. Her stomach lay somewhere below her toes. "Is this how you greet your closest teacher?" Aversa asked.

Before the woman could finish opening her arms, Robin barreled into her stomach. This hug was not Stahl's, all warmth tainted with some tugging in her stomach. This hug was home. "I…" She could feel band staring at her, and Robert's glare was almost tangible. Detangling herself from Madame Aversa, Robin spun to face the band. Chrom hastily looked back at the game, and Sumia and Cordelia struck up a sudden, loud conversation. As Stahl turned to Kellam, Robert raised an eyebrow at her. "Robert…" Robin pleaded.

He shoved his clarinet into Ricken's chest. The smaller boy stumbled backwards into Maribelle, but Robert was already at the front of the band. "Well, go on then," he said. His voice was dark, and he refused to meet her gaze.

"Robert…"

Ignoring her, her brother motioned to lead the band in a song. Chewing on her lip, Robin watched his back, but Madame Aversa placed a hand on her shoulder. Robin motioned her out of the stadium. The two sat on a bench outside. It was designed for parents to pick up their children, and from it, there was a view of the parking lot, mostly dirt and trucks. The band was a distant echo. "So this is where you've been. After your sudden withdrawal from our music academy, we've missed you," Aversa said. Her prim posture and professional clothing were at odds with the splintered wood of the bench. "Your band is… cute."

Cute in the same way a child toddling around in her mother's shoes is cute, Robin supposed she meant. "They're dedicated, and they have made a vast improvement since I arrived," Robin said. Robin could hear the band on their last few strains of their song. After weeks of practice, Chrom could finally hit those higher notes critical to the melody. When he managed it, the boy's smile was radiant.

Aversa tittered. "Well, of course they've improved, dear. Under the tutelage of a genius such as you, I'm not surprised at all." Shifting on the bench, Aversa slid a little closer. "But have you improved, Robin?"

Stahl's face came back to her, his soap and detergent smell, his warm hand on her shoulder. Certain aspects of herself she had improved. Sumia, Stahl, Chrom, Robert, even Gaius and Cordelia, perhaps. Never would she have let so many people so close to her at Plegian. "I... I feel stagnant, in some regards. This town is small, and my mother has no piano." A squirrel scampered by, hopping amongst some crunchy leaves. There were far fewer squirrels in Plegian Central. "I have been working on that Schumann Concerto, though. I would love for you to hear it," Robin said. She smiled up at Madame Aversa, and Madame Aversa smiled back.

"I'm sure the piano here will not do it justice," Madame Aversa replied, and she was right. Robin chewed on her lip and watched the squirrel dig for its food. The band had started another song, one she had chosen for them specifically, a particular favorite. "The grand piano in Plegian Capitol, however, might be worthy of your piece." Robin jerked her head up. Madame Aversa's smile deepened, displaying her glossy, perfect teeth. "We at Plegian were thinking you should play it in the winter. February 29th, to be specific."

It was difficult to breath. "Why?" Robin gasped. A performance? Her fingers itched at the opportunity to touch the piano she had become familiar with, to play for a crowd, to watch the velvet curtains rise and to feel the hand of her father on her shoulder once more.

"There is a scholarship the academy offers for… poorer children such as yourself. Tuition is expensive, and if your mother cannot afford it, perhaps we can help ease your passage, provided you are the best musician at our audition in February," Aversa said. Robin's feet felt small and far away. The squirrel was but a blot in the distance. "I have already vouched for you."

"I…" Robert would not like it. Her mother would not like it. Robin played with the hem of her shirt. Somehow she could hear Severa's distress at the disappearance of her sister. She could feel a much younger Robert's fist digging into her sleeve.

"It can be difficult," Aversa said, "to leave behind friends and family, but for young talent such as yourself, to stay in a small town can mean death for a promising musical career." Gently, Madame Aversa placed a hand over Robin's. "I only look out for your future."

Madame Aversa's nails, shortened for the piano, rested on the back of Robin's hand. It was everything Robin wanted, and she knew it. "Madame Aversa… I…" With a roar, the crowd flooded out of the stadium. The match was over, and it appeared Ylissean North had won. Rising to her feet, Madame Aversa brushed wooden slivers from her skirt. Robin scrambled after her. "Are you leaving so soon?" Robin asked.

"This is but one stop of many, my dear, and I must be in Ylistol Central Theatre by tomorrow morning." Madame Aversa shifted her handbag from her left to her right hand. As she paused to dig for her keys, the woman struck an odd picture among the rush of students painted in school colors. With a jingle, Madame Aversa waved to Robin. "Think on my proposal, Robin. I look forward to hearing your response by December." The crowd roared by, swallowing her instructor whole, and Robert was definitely not talking to her.

* * *

**More drama... but slightly lower key? Maybe? Anyways, Cordelia is a little happier! Poor baby. And Robin is more upset! Poor baby, again.**

**Anyways, next chapter guess what chess competition we'll be seeing... and which future child gets his/her debut. ;)**

**Well, per usual, I love your reviews/follows/favorites/PMs and appreciate everything from writing suggestions, to pairing suggestions, to character appearance suggestions. Even if I don't get to them straight away, they are not ignored!**


	10. Tharja - Silence

**Author's Note:**

**First, mooooore future children. You all know the drill, so it's time for me to mix it up by announcing that F!Morgan is a redhead. It's not at all indicative of the pairings, so no conclusion jumping, you sillies. ;)**

**Second, **As part of my experimenting, from now on, I'm going to put a sneak peek for the next chapter on my profile after I publish the first one! Sooooo, the first sneak peek is up now, and I totally encourage you to check it out on my profile. I'm putting it there instead of here in an attempt to reduce some clutter! If it's well received, I'll probably continue it.****

**Third, per request a refresher on instruments. If you don't need it, jump to the page break.**

* * *

**Conductor: Robin**

**First row, from left to right:**

**Saxophones: Owain, Lon'qu**

**Flutes: Lissa, Maribelle, Libra**

**Piccolos: Nowi**

**Clarinets: Ricken, Henry, Tharja, Robert**

**Mellophones: Cordelia, Cynthia, Sumia**

**Second row:**

**Tubas: Kellam, Kjelle**

**Baritones: Stahl, Frederick, Sully**

**Trombones: (Started in row 1, now moved to row 2) Virion**

**Trumpets: Chrom, Severa**

**Last row:**

**Percussion: Vaike, Gaius, Donnel**

* * *

**To my kindly reviewers:**

** pokemon . rhoades : I tried to write your name in my last reviewer note, and it got retconned. Hopefully it appears, otherwise this will just be cryptic. Thanks! And Grima (and Naga) will appear! Let's just say he's not one of the good guys. While Aversa runs a little grey on the morality scale, he definitely doesn't.  
**

**pureshadow013: Aversa is here and gone just as quickly! As for Grima, well, we've got a few months before his debut. ;)**

**Cormag Ravenstaff: Poor Cordelia... She perks up a little here, which is definitely good for her. As for Aversa, thanks! Henry gets a little cameo today, crow jokes and all! Aaand, I guess you saw the handy dandy list. It's been so long since I've mentioned some of the people's instruments... Yikes.**

**Mattariago: It's here! Complete with a certain budding romance!**

**Random Chicky: Guess who we get to see kind of getting along again! Sumia can only be your mutual friend for so long before some of her friendliness rubs off on you.**

**Axel: Thanks! Yeah, there hasn't really been a future children centric chapter, but let's just say today's debut is one of my favorites. The contrast she makes with Robin is a good one I think I'm going to bring up again.**

**Guest: I'm so glad you like my story! AnnaxVaike is a rather interesting suggestion. It's the first time I've heard, and I think it would be rather cute to see Anna tug Vaike around. As for ChromxRobin, all I'm going to say is look forward to the next chapter! ;)**

**A Shadow's Lament: The glacier melts a little more today! As for Cordelia's issues, that poor girl is just unlucky. Inigo and f!Morgan are my two favorite future children. Neither have been mentioned yet, but someone gets a part in today's installment. The other is soon to follow! Thanks! I feel like Aversa and Robin have a sort of kinship, similar backstories and all.**

**Thanks to my shiny followers: Dwarfsun, Bluestorm1990**

**Now enjoy!**

* * *

Ylissean North, as the most central school among the participants, hosted Robert's chess competition. Pushing open a gym door, Robin brushed some chipping paint off her free hand as Robert strode in after her. It was her first time in the gym, and Robin was sure it wasn't always like this, a mash up of chess boards and garish banners, 'homecoming' painted across them. Instead of the pristine court, fold out tables with chess boards and chess clocks filled the space. Clusters of students, no more than twenty or thirty in all, chatted around the room. Robin felt out of place. "Is there anything I can do to help you guys set up or something, Robert?" Robin asked.

It was a hopeless question, and more a silent request for forgiveness. Robert didn't like Madame Aversa or Plegian, and Robin knew her excitement when Madame Aversa actually arrived hurt him. He probably wanted some apology, but then Robin had nothing to apologize for. She hoped. Without a backwards glance, Robert strode towards the gym floor where his team waved to him. Unsure of what else to do, Robin trailed after him.

The chess team, all of five people, hovered in the middle of the basketball court. Robert weaved around the foldout tables to talk to some older looking gentlemen, and Robin wandered over to Virion. At her approach Virion straightened up from the table he was leaning on, brushing some invisible lint off his crisp shirt and dressed pants. "Is that… a bib, Virion? Do all of the chess players have to wear them?" Robin asked. Everyone else was in t-shirts. Virion adjusted the bib with a huff, and a red head next to him giggled.

"As I have just explained to sweet Morgan here, this is a cravat. It is a symbol of style and elegance, and –"

"It looks like a napkin," the girl next to him piped up. Her red bob and innocent little mouth made her look young, but the inches of creamy skin between her denim shorts and dark, thigh high socks made Robin blush for the girl. Despite being—or perhaps because she was—the only girl in the chess competition, the redhead was oblivious to the stares of her male competitors. With a mischievous grin, she placed a finger to her chin and studied Virion. "Is it a napkin?"

Groaning, the boy placed a hand to his forehead. It was the sound of someone who had heard the comment all too many times. Which probably happened a lot if you were the only high school student in a bib. "While I find your wit charming, Morgan, I believe Robert is over there somewhere. Perhaps you would like to greet him?" On the far side of the court, Robert chatted with a bespectacled boy from another team while straightening chess boards and clocks.

"Oho, is he now?" Morgan's grin widened. "Well, I reckon I could use a quick tactical refresher." The girl hopped off her perch on the foldout table. Without a backward glance at Virion or any of her oglers, Morgan skipped across the basketball court to Robert.

"Freshman," Virion muttered. "Endearing upturned nose, too much energy."

Robin watched as Morgan looped an arm through Robert's. The girl pulled him away from the other boy towards another chess board, ignorant of the blush blooming under her competitor's thick-rimmed glasses. "She seems… confident," Robin said. The redhead chattered animatedly with Robert, waving her hands and arms as if she were speaking in sign language, and Robert nodded from time to time. Robin chewed on her lip. Morgan leant over the board, and even from several yards away, Robin caught an eyeful of pale collarbone and cleavage peeking out of the girl's loose t-shirt. It was disconcerting, watching your brother being flirted with, and Robin had a suspicion it was happening right now.

"I've already arranged an unfortunate accident," Tharja muttered. Robin flinched, but the Goth slunk around her shoulder to lurk by Virion's side, unfazed. Unusually venomous today, Tharja glared at Morgan, who was now shoulder to shoulder with Robert. As Morgan leaned over the board again, Tharja looked Virion over. "Does your mother know you're wearing the fancy dinner napkins, Virion?"

"Darling Tharja, this is a cravat, and—"

"Stop talking, Virion, or I'll curse your eyeballs." Tharja glowered at Robert and Morgan. The girl was now giggling, high-pitched and girlish, at something her brother said. Robin was unsure whether to cheer Robert on or locate for Morgan the nearest nun's habit. Robert glanced back at Virion, Robin, and Tharja, and the Goth quickly ducked behind Virion's back. "I want to vomit. On the redheaded twit," Tharja said. Fingers digging in to Virion's shoulders, the girl peeped over his back and watched Morgan pull Robert's attention once more.

Robin suspected letting this follow through would not make Robert any happier with her. "Projectile vomiting skills aren't on Robert's list of attractive traits," she said. Virion nodded sagely, perhaps out of self-preservation. The dark aura Tharja was emanating was enough to clear a bubble of several yards, scared chess members hovering on its outskirts, unwilling to enter the space.

Something in Tharja's eyes glimmered, and Robin regretted everything. "I want that list."

The Goth slunk around Virion to skulk in front of Robin. Standing all of a foot away and smelling strongly of incense, Tharja looked exceptionally sinister. Even this close, Tharja's heavy eyeliner was perfect. Last time Robin tried eyeliner, she stabbed herself in the eye. "That list doesn't actually exist," Robin said. The only list Robert had ever written was the one of his top ten Jedi warrior people. "Are you… interested in my brother?" When did Robert, the boy who quoted Lord of the Rings, become so popular? Robert couldn't possibly know what to do with a girlfriend, and Robin couldn't even picture him with one.

"We're going to get married." Robin squinted. Tharja didn't look like she was joking, and Virion didn't look like he thought it was a joke.

"That's… nice?" Please, by all the gods, let this be the moment I discover Tharja has a sense of humor.

"Of course," Tharja replied. She was still much too close, and the smell of incense was beginning to make Robin gag. "Once I marry your brother, we shall become sisters." Tharja sighed happily. Virion leant back against the table and began to watch the slowly increasing number of competitors mill around the basketball court. It appeared he heard this frequently. "We shall all live in the same house together, and when Robert goes out to work at the nearby office next to your favorite coffee shop, you will play piano while I make my voodoo dolls, and I will go to all your concerts, and we will be each other's most trusted companions."

"You do realize you're marrying Robert, my brother, right? Why would I live in your house?" Robin asked.

"Neither here nor there. Our perfect future doesn't include the redheaded siren," Tharja said. Tharja glared at Morgan and Robert, still deep in conversation, before turning her scowl to Virion. "That fool," Virion rolled his eyes. "Virion has… suggested that perhaps I have an emotional attachment to… Ugh, just thinking it makes me queasy." Tharja looked a little pinker than she had before. "I would be a much better match for your brother than that child. How do I seduce him?"

Gaping was the best option. Sure, she could come up with some rational reply, but there was no rational reply to 'how do I seduce your brother.' Tugging Robert back to the Ylissean North chess team, Morgan gave Robin, Virion, and Tharja a radiant smile. Robert frowned at Robin's wide open mouth, and she closed it quickly. It was the closest thing to interaction they had since Friday afternoon, and it felt both hot and cold, like cupping an ice cube in one's hand and letting it simply rest there. "Is this Tharja?" Morgan chirped.

The Goth pulled Virion in front of her once more, forming a barrier between herself and Morgan that she snarled over. Robert laughed, very lightly. It was at least a week since Robin had last heard his laugh. Relaxing a little, Tharja squinted at Morgan suspiciously. "Tharja, I want you to meet Morgan. She's my junior, I guess you could say," Robert said. He placed a hand on Morgan's shoulder and shook the girl. As Morgan wobbled in place, Tharja sulked a little lower behind Virion. It only made Robert chuckle harder, and Tharja ducked fully behind Virion, hiding a rather pink face. Tharja, it seemed, made Robert happy. If Robert couldn't be happy around Robin, perhaps helping him spend more time with Tharja would be the next best thing.

* * *

"What makes a girl attractive?" Robin asked. Stahl blinked sleepily and rolled a little to glance at her sidelong. Biology had ended early, but most of the class, like Stahl, had drifted to sleep. It was unusually quiet, students collapsed over the long Biology tables, Ms. Miriel flipping through her book with the occasional rustle.

"Mmm… Two X-chromosomes," Stahl mumbled. His hair was a mess, flopping over his eyes, flying up in odd spots. Rather than reach a hand to fix one particularly offensive curl, Robin sat on her fingers. After the hug, Stahl suddenly seemed... touchable. If the boy was going to hug people at random, he should at least keep his hair and clothes neat so that his hug victims didn't feel compelled to straighten him out all the time. Stahl's eyes were slowly drifting shut again.

"Stahl," Robin huffed. Her fingers were already beginning to feel squished, trapped between her jeans and the cool metal of the stool.

"Depends on who you're trying to attract. Different guys like different things," Stahl said. He ran a hand through his hair, and somehow it only looked more rumpled than before.

"To you then. What do you look for in a girl?" Robin asked. Guys couldn't be that different, after all. Whatever Stahl liked would probably be just fine for Robert. It was a little disconcerting, first trying to describe your brother's type of girl and then realizing you missed that year of his life where girls suddenly became fascinating. Left you with a little empty part you couldn't fill by asking him because he was still upset with you for something he had no right to be. Well, maybe a small right.

Setting his hand to his chin in some exaggerated thinking gesture, Stahl said, "Hmmm… Well, if she didn't laugh at the biology joke I made a minute ago, it's kind of a turn off." He shot her a grin, one of his half smiles that only crinkled up the corner of his right eye. Robin resolved to buy Stahl a hairbrush.

"Whatever," Robin said. Chuckling, Stahl slumped back over the table. Sense of humor, then. Robert liked to joke around, she thought. Tharja's smile haunted Robin's nightmares, though. Robin just hoped her laugh was nicer.

* * *

They were sitting in English when Robin blurted out the same question she had asked Stahl to Sumia. The brunette smiled, catlike, before scooting rather close to Robin. "So who is it?" Sumia asked, wiggling her eyebrows at Robin.

"I—What? No, not me, for a friend," Robin replied.

Sumia slid a little closer, and their shoulders were touching. "So this isn't about a date you may or may not be trying to get for the homecoming dance?" Sumia asked. Somehow her smiled showed all her rather white teeth.

"I don't even know what homecoming is. And no. Again," Robin said. She did remember some banners pinned in the gym though, a rather violent shade of yellow, 'homecoming' emblazoned on them in green, like giant citrus candy wrappers.

Sumia scooted her chair back to her usual position, but her enthusiasm was undimmed. Bouncing her Mary Janes against the chair legs, Sumia continued. "All you need to know is homecoming's the first dance of the school year. It's free. And Cordelia—Student Council- arranges it. So I'm going. And you should come with me."

Robin chewed on her lip. Robert hadn't mentioned the homecoming dance, and, if Robin knew him at all, he probably didn't have a date. Tharja probably didn't either. "This homecoming dance… Is it romantic? The sort of thing that makes two people happy?"

"Yeah, I guess," Sumia said. The brunette chewed on her pencil eraser. "Is something up?"

"I think I need to get Tharja to ask Robert to the dance," Robin said.

* * *

As Morgan, the little redhead from Robert's chess club, joined the band that afternoon, Tharja's sulk was almost tangible. Henry found the entire thing hilarious, but Robert seemed more concerned. Leaning over, he whispered something in Tharja's ear. The girl continued to glare, and Robert let one hand drift up to play with his longer strands of hair, a nervous tic Robin had not seen in a while. Morgan grinned broadly at Robin. Too short to see over the tubas, the freshman had to hop to be seen from the percussion section. Robert smiled lightly at her antics, and Tharja only scowled further.

"Okay. Tharja, you like Robert," Cordelia said. The girl's face was pink, but her voice was firm. Sitting in a café Sumia declared had 'adorable little pies that led you to pie heaven,' Robin, Cordelia, Sumia, and Gaius, who had come in the name of escorting said pies to heaven, clustered around a still grumpy Tharja. The café was like Sumia, unassuming, but charming, and the roasted coffee bean aroma was one Robin hadn't enjoyed since she lived in Plegian Capitol. Apparently, even this backwater town had one good coffee shop. "And you wish to go to the Homecoming dance with him," Cordelia finished.

Sumia had declared Cordelia the love expert. While Sumia liked to declare Cordelia the insert-noun-here expert quite frequently, Robin had no idea where to begin asking anyone out romantically anywhere, so Cordelia, with whatever experience she had, knew more than Robin by default. It was important to get this right, important enough that Robin would sit in this little café with Cordelia on her left and Gaius on her right while Tharja glowered at everything in sight across the table. Awkwardness with Cordelia, the plague known as Gaius, anything could be thrust aside in the name of cheering up her just barely younger brother.

Tharja pulled her legs up to her chest. Heels of her boots resting on the edge of her mahogany chair, Tharja peered at the quartet from behind her knees. "I hate everyone here," she said. Cordelia rolled her eyes as Sumia grimaced. "Robin. Fix it."

"Tharja," Robin said, "They're here to help. If you want to make Robert happy, you're going to have to work with us here." Tharja huffed. Sitting her chin against her knees, the Goth's eyes were just visible between her legs and her thick bangs. "Good. So?"

Whipping a small book from her bag, Cordelia frowned with determination. "This," she declared. The girl's face matched the color of her hair, and Gaius, curiosity piqued, leaned forward a little from his pie.

"How to Make Him—"

"Not here," Cordelia hissed. The redhead flattened out some stray strands of hair and cast a furtive glance out into the café. It was mostly deserted, and the customers that remained paid them little attention. Tharja picked the book up by a corner with her thumb and index finger. Holding it at arm's length, the Goth surveyed the bubblegum pink book suspiciously.

"Hate to break it to ya, Cordy, but we don't exactly have a fortnight," Gaius said. Stuffing another piece of pie into his mouth, the boy added, "'Sides guys 'on't actually notice that shtuff."

Cordelia raised an eyebrow at Gaius's spray of crumbs. Gaius winked at her. Before the redhead could reply, Robin added, "Anyways, it'll probably be better than that book of flirting tips Virion wrote up for you." Tharja held out Virion's book next to Cordelia's. After Tharja's request for help seducing her brother, Virion had presented her with a book on his personal flirting tips. Robin was a little suspicious they weren't applicable if the flirter was actually a woman and was also suspicious they did Virion little good, besides. Grumbling, the Goth clutched both books, the bubblegum pink and the more reserved brown to her chest. "Now, the goal is Robert's happiness. He's going to have a great time, and no one is going to vomit on anyone or end up with cursed eyeballs." Even if Robert was unhappy with her, he was going to be happy with someone.

Tharja rose from her seat. "No vomiting," she muttered. Somehow, the prospect seemed to disappoint the girl, and she slipped off before Robin could bring up the cursed eyeballs.

Cordelia turned back to Robin, Sumia, and Gaius. "So who's everyone else going with?"

Her eyes glowed with some extreme enthusiasm. It was a little odd to see Cordelia, usually so glum or at least reserved, look so engaged. Robin scooted her chair a little further away from the redhead. "Sumia?"

The brunette squeaked, and her coffee cup met the table with the dull chink of ceramic on wood. It was an odd turnabout from her enthusiasm that morning. Gaius watched lazily as Robin, Cordelia, and a bright red Sumia blanketed the table with napkins. "That mean you have a date, Stumbles?" he asked. The boy lay back in his chair, one hand paused with another piece of pie halfway to his face. A crumb fell, and the boy caught it in his free hand, eyes still trained on Sumia.

The brunette piled a mountain of now soggy napkins on her plate. "W-well, someone asked." Gaius set his fork down as Cordelia leaned in a little closer. After a moment's hesitation, Robin mimicked her. Sumia, however, was too dedicated to creating the Mount Everest of coffee napkins to elaborate.

"And?" Gaius drawled.

"I don't even know why he asked, really. I mean, if I were I guy, I wouldn't ask someone as plain and boring as me. I bet looooooads of people have already asked you, Cordelia," Sumia said. Placing the last napkin on top of her pile, Sumia stared at her creation, oblivious to the glances of the café staff. Barely visible behind a curtain of brown hair, Sumia's face was pink and screwed up in a grimace.

"But what did you say?" Cordelia asked.

"Ummm… I figured… Um, well, I didn't think anyone else would ask me so…" Sumia's voice got progressively higher, trailing off in a squeak.

"You said yes, Sumia," Gaius finished dully. It was the first time Robin had actually heard him use the girl's name. It sounded disinterested and disaffected, as if Gaius was relaying the weather and it was to rain all day. "Do you even like—Actually, don't answer that." As one of the café staff retrieved the brunette's napkin laden plate, Sumia closed her eyes with a frown. Robin could hear a few strains of soft jazz, rather nice actually, but incongruous with the gloom of the table.

Cordelia cleared her throat. "Umm… How about you, Gaius?" the redhead asked. He was next in their circle, and Robin winced internally. His expression unreadable, Gaius bent over his plate and pushed a stray blueberry around the white surface. The boy's arrogance annoyed her, but it was a little sad to see him depressed.

Gaius stabbed at his pie repetitively, watching the blue filling ooze out in pinpricks. "I think I'm going to ask the girl at the register over there," he announced to his pie slice. "We have first period together." The café worker was pretty in an artsy sort of way, with wild hair tied to little beads and feathers, probably outdoorsy. Last band performance, Gaius whined about nature for a good quarter of the match. As Gaius looked up at her, the girl waved, light catching on several rings.

"But you always tell me how boring everyone—" Gaius stood up, knocking his chair back a few inches and cutting Sumia off with the clatter. Despite his childish nature, Robin supposed Gaius could be considered attractive. As the boy stretched, his shirt rose with his arms, exposing a few inches of flat stomach, dramatic against the dark fabric. Sumia, who had begun to fold the last napkin into squares, began to fold more furiously. Stuffing his hands in the back pockets of his jeans, Gaius sauntered over to the front counter. The boy leaned over the café counter and winked, slowly and blatantly, the sort of wink designed to warm your stomach, at his classmate on the other side.

* * *

After the awkwardness of Monday, band on Tuesday was just weird. "Hello, Robin. Lovely weather today. Did you remember your umbrella?" Tharja asked. Instead of lurking somewhere near her shoulder, the Goth faced Robin directly, and she was no longer Goth. Twirling around in her floral sundress, Tharja smiled, just as awkward as Robin remembered. Her heavy eyeliner and incense traded out for natural makeup and rose, Tharja added, "Do I not look most normal today, dear Robin?"

"Tharja?" Robert asked. The girl spun around on her heel and grinned at Robert. Her smile was still wobbly and stiff. Robert frowned at Tharja. It was an expression Robin was beginning to get accustomed to.

"Oh, Robert! How positively radiant you look today," Tharja exclaimed, in a voice as giggly as Morgan's on Saturday. Caught in between the pair, Robin supposed it was the closest she was going to get to a conversation with her brother. But she had a goal, and that goal wouldn't be accomplished with her here as third wheel. With a great deal of doubt, Robin left Tharja and Robert to their conversation.

"Your hideous book is stupid," Tharja hissed. With an unceremonious plunk, Tharja dropped _How to Make Him Fall for You in a Fortnight _on Cordelia's music stand. The weight of the book righted the entire stand, and the book and Cordelia's sheet music tumbled to the ground. "Aaaaand she's back," Henry said. "I was beginning to worry your sudden change in personality might be CAWS for concern." The boy started to chuckle and then turned to uproarious laughter. Clutching his stomach, Henry nearly kicked Cordelia in the face as the girl bent to collect her music.

"Crow jokes have been his thing for the past few months," Cordelia said. Henry's shoulders shook as he leaned over in his chair to collapse over his music stand. Robin wondered if she was supposed to laugh.

"You disgust me," Tharja said. With a little squint at Henry, Tharja crossed her arms over the pastel sundress. With her pale skin and inky hair, the daisy fabric simply washed the girl out. "Do you even have a boyfriend?" she asked Cordelia.

The redhead froze, still bent over her leather knapsack. As if it was a small system glitch, Cordelia hoisted the bag into her lap abruptly. "No. But it's not been a fortnight, so—"

"It's been a year and a half," Henry supplied.

Cordelia sighed. "Well, I'm going to ask him to Homecoming," she said. Henry's eyebrows knit together in a dubious squint, and Cordelia turned a little pink. "This time, I am."

So Cordelia's book didn't work, and Cordelia was the love expert. It also appeared Cordelia was less of an expert than Sumia had claimed, but Robin supposed that was neither here nor there. There weren't many people left to ask, definitely none that she really trusted. However… Robin stole a glance at the band room… there was one person, still here, that seemed to be good at seducing people.

Leaving Tharja trapped in Cordelia and Henry's discussion, something that had turned to whether or not it was too hot to gift someone a knitted scarf, Robin strode off to the opposite corner of the band room. Still waving her hands and arms to her words, Morgan was wrapped in conversation with Owain and Cynthia. The girl had traded her thigh highs and shorts for jeans, but her top was only dress code in that her arms and torso were covered in fabric. Whatever she was wearing was long-sleeved, dark, and sheer, and even with the camisole underneath, Morgan's outfit still felt vaguely provocative. The effect must be purposeful, Robin decided.

Either oblivious to the girl's outfit or uninterested, Owain broke off his conversation with Morgan. Waving at Robin, he grinned, a ray of sunshine next to Morgan's darker shadows. "Robin, finally come to greet the complete Justice Cabal?" he asked. Owain was bouncing up and down. Even his fingers seemed unable to control his excitement at whatever that prospect was.

"No. And I don't want to know." Owain wilted instantly. "Morgan, can I borrow you?" Robin asked. The redhead grinned, wide and childish, an act that was disconcerting placed next to her clothing. Motioning the redhead a few yards away, Robin surveyed the room. Only Morgan's friends and her… friends, if you called Henry, Cordelia, and Tharja her friends, remained. "How do you seduce people?"

Morgan continued grinning. "What now?"

"Seduce people."

"Oh, I heard that bit, just… Why are you asking me?" The girl blinked slowly, and her dark eyes seemed even more doe like.

Robin huffed. You couldn't dress in a see-through top and pretend to be innocent. "Whatever. You have an effect on guys. I want to recreate that effect. How do I do that?" Simple, short sentences. Somehow, Robin was going to get through to this girl.

Morgan placed a finger to her chin and cocked her head a little to the side. "Mmmm…" The girl scrunched her face together, little nose a wrinkled dot in the middle. "Nope. No idea what you're talking about."

"My brother," Robin growled.

"You want to seduce your brother?"

"I'm not responding to that," Robin said, and Morgan giggled. "Do you fancy Robert?"

"Huh?" Morgan's mouth popped open in a little pink oh. Robin wasn't too good with these things, but the girl was definitely wearing some sort of makeup. Combined with her clothes, how was this not seducing people? "Robert? Your brother?" The freshman began to giggle again, louder and longer, and the girl collapsed on Robin's shoulder, grasping to it like some sort of anchor. Tharja was scowling at them from behind Cordelia and Henry, crouched between their chairs. "Ohhhhhh, no. Not my type."

"Wait. You were practically falling all over him on Saturday," Robin said. And what was so ridiculous about dating Robert? Not that she wanted Robert to have a girlfriend, but it was a little insulting to have some girl in hysterics over the prospect.

"I'm touchy-feely," Morgan replied. The girl continued to lean on Robin's shoulder, as if to prove her point. "Doesn't mean I like any of you. Besides…" Morgan pushed herself off Robin's shoulder, and Robin stumbled back a step. "Robert likes the Goth. He told me a few days ago."

"What?" It was like an ice cube again, except it felt like someone had crammed Robin full of them and just left her cold. She and Robert were sometimes distant, but he told her things. At least he did before she left. "Why?"

Morgan gave her an odd look. "Because I asked?"

It was Wednesday afternoon, Tharja, after taking Morgan's suggestion and bluntly asking him, was going to the dance with Robert, Robert seemed happier, and it had been nine days since Robin's last true conversation with him. Homecoming was going to be grand.

* * *

**Somehow this chapter ended up really long, and I only got about half of what I wanted to get done written... In other news, I'm experimenting with writing styles right now, so if the chapter felt odd, that's why.**

**Anyways, after Morgan's supports, this was the feeling I got from her. To be honest, I adore her character, but no matter who I pair m!Robin with Morgan is perpetually Anna's daughter. Can't help, I just feel it really suits her personality!**

**In other news, homecoming dance next chapter! I'd be happy to hear any sort of date/pairing suggestions, and per usual, love your reviews, PMs, favorites, and follows.**


	11. Chrom - Shall we Dance?

**Author's note:**

**So I changed the format I little. First, I've included a little end segment after the main story. This is in another character's point of view, describing some scene Robin may (not) have seen. It doesn't advance the plot, just develops the characters. Not gonna lie, today's is mostly fluff. What I would love though, is your opinion on whether or not you all would like to see more of these end segments. So read, and tell me what you think! A good idea, a bad idea, would it be better just to move it into a different story and have this main one and the bonuses separate...**

**Second, I've also decided to put little clips on my profile as promos for the next chapter. (Not going to lie, I maaaay have been studying some of Cassandra Clare's work, and she does stuff like this, which I think is fun). I'll probably change 'em up every day or two.  
**

**To my wonderful reviewers:**

**pureshadow013: Well, there's no Gangrel yet, but I definitely have plans for the guy. As for Severa, weeeell, you'll see.**

**Mattariago: Thanks! Not so much Tharja in this one, but hang tight for the next chapter!**

**pokemon . rhoades: Morgan is so precious. As a girl or a boy. Also, sunny Tharja. Equal parts terrifying and endearing.**

**Blazengirl410: Thanks! Homecoming is here!**

**Random Chicky: m!Morgan will appear as well. Can't have both Robins without both Morgans!**

**Cormag Ravenstaff: What I've been experimenting with is inserting Robin's voice a little more into the story. May have gone a little too far in the last chapter. Still working out the kinks. Anyways, Robin definitely perceived Morgan as such. As someone who would never be comfortable in clothes like that and who has issues showing those close to her outward affection, Robin interpreted Morgan's actions with that mindset.**

**whisper6636: No Anna yet, but everyone else you mentioned gets an appearance today! And I deeeeefinitely had too much fun writing the last chapter.**

**OneShotMasta: Thanks! Real life is rather grey, so I've been trying to avoid bashing anyone for too long. As for pairings, well the plot thickens today!**

**Guest: In game, my f!Robin pairing was Virion. They were the first pair where one character blocked a hit for the other. That combined with their supports and I was a goner. Obviously, not at all indicative of the end game here. Haha. I do love Chrom and Robin's supports, so stay tuned there. As for m!Morgan. Yes, He will appear.**

**Shout out to my shiny new followers: Mark-Kris Robin, Koye, DietMilk (haha), dogsrock101, Trace Cohen, Jumyolchi**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Somewhere in between withdrawing from Plegian and reentering her middle school home, Robin decided she wanted to avoid people. It was purely selfish, driven by a desire to disappoint her family, as if somehow, if they were upset enough, they would just send Robin back to her music academy. And yet, now that the opportunity to return to Plegian presented itself, Robin leant against her music stand, yards away from the school's piddly piano, unable to pull herself from Cordelia's and Sumia's conversation.

"I just—I choked," Cordelia said. The girl flopped her head into her hands, and Sumia patted her pack. "We were right there and he told me how important I was to him—well, the student council, but I know Chrom—"

"I'm sorry. Chrom?" Robin asked.

"I know," Cordelia said, "It was silly to wait so late to ask him. He probably already has a date." Robin tried to picture Chrom asking anyone out. Probably would just stumble through the mess, end up out of breathe and bright red, and get the date out of pity.

"But Chrom. Henry said you've fancied some guy for a year and a half, and that guy was Chrom."

"Yes," Cordelia huffed. "You are listening, right?"

"Actually, I'm leaving," Robin replied. She wasn't supposed to want to talk to these people. Robin was supposed to be at Plegian, and this was supposed to be little more than a hurdle to leap. Cordelia's mouth opened for a moment and closed in a frown just as quickly. One hand rubbing circles in Cordelia's back, Sumia gave Robin a gentle smile. "I… need to get home early today. Mother needs me to run an errand." It was a lie, but Sumia's smile made Robin feel guilty, like pulling away from the two was something wrong, unjustifiable.

Before either of the girls could say anymore, Robin spun on her heel and strode out of the band room. The hall was quiet. Band had ended ten, fifteen minutes ago, and the band members were long gone. Robert, still, still upset with her, had left with Tharja. As Robin peered out the hallway windows, she could just spy a hoard of girls at the front steps of the school, a familiar head of deep blue hair in the middle.

Elbowing between a blonde and her friend, Robin found not Chrom, but his cousin in the middle of the hoard. "Chrom hasn't told me anything of his intentions for the upcoming dance," Lucina said. The girl's voice was unusually shrill, and the crowd continued to press in on her. "But I can tell you that Chrom is much too good for—"

"Lucina?" Robin said. Lucina whipped her head around, catching one particularly close girl with her hair. Her stoic face was twisted into a glare, steely and terrifying, her chest rising and falling unusually quickly. Lucina's eyes widened.

"Ah? You're Lissa's friend. What are you doing here?" Lucina tossed Chrom's admirers a sidelong glare.

"Helping you," Robin replied. A few of the girls looked familiar, probably from band. As she recalled, they were rather persistent. Persistent enough to stoop to harassing Chrom's cousin. "Robin, by the way. My name."

"Well, Robin, I am coolheaded enough to handle myself," Lucina said. A more forward admirer placed a hand on Lucina's shoulder. The girl whirled back around, this time catching Robin with her hair. It smelled like vanilla. "Enough," Lucina cried. For a coolheaded individual, the girl sounded rather furious.

"C'mon, Lucina. Let's go." Lucina's hands were balled into fists tight enough to whiten her fingers. "Seriously," Robin muttered. "You're only giving them what they want." Lucina inhaled, exhaled, and stretched her fingers out as far as it seemed they would go.

Twirling on a boot heel, Lucina cast Chrom's fans an imperious glare. "Consider yourselves fortunate Lissa's companion was here today, for with her nearby, you all are not worth my time."

Lucina strode through the crowd, and those that did not move out of her way, she moved herself. Robin followed after her. As they reached the first intersection, Lucina paused, thumbs thrust into her denim pockets. A car roared by, ruffling both the girls' hair. As Robin scrambled for her flyaway strands, Lucina seemed unaffected. "Chrom will hear of this," Lucina said. Balancing on the curb as another car rumbled by, the girl looked back to Robin. "I appreciate your assistance." Lucina's smile was thin but kind, even if it did not quite meet her eyes. Before Robin could reply, Lucina was halfway across the street, loose white shirt billowing in the wind.

* * *

When Robin arrived at her mother's house, her mother's shiny, silver car, windows tainted with sticker glue remnants from a younger Robin and Robert, was gone. Peeping into the living room, Robin found it deserted. Sneaking to her room was easier when no one was around. Robin shut herself inside her bedroom only to find Robert on her bed.

Robert rolled over on her already rumpled afghan to peer at Robin. He hadn't been in her room since the day he carried her move in boxes. "You are aware your room is on the other side of the hall, right?" Robin asked. Robert just buried his face back into Robin's blue afghan. With her brother in her room, Robin suddenly realized how dirty it was. Her shoes were strewn across the carpet, homework stuck out of one of her dresser drawers, dinner from last night hid on her desk under some doodle Gaius had forced on her. Robin stepped over one stray boot and dumped her backpack at the foot of her bed. "So…How… Uh, how are you, then?"

Robin sat on a corner of her bed, and her weight depressed it, Robert shifting a little in response. Her brother simply pressed his face into her bed, so Robin stared at her jazz poster instead. "Do you like it here?" Robert asked. The blankets muffled his voice, but Robert seemed unwilling to move.

"I—"

"Because I want you to like it here. Mom wants you to like it here." Robert propped himself up on his elbows and scowled at the carpet. "Tharja talked about you most of the way home. Made me think perhaps there is a part of you that does like it here."

Sighing, Robin let herself fall back on the bed. She stared up at the stucco ceiling aimlessly. As a child, she used to try and make shapes in the textures, but now the ceiling was just hills and valleys, and no animals hid between them. "It's not about liking it, Robert. It's about music. I can't live here—No, that's not it." The town was nice. It had nice people in it. "I couldn't live in a future without music, where I would drive to my day job, and the radio would play songs by people who lived and breathed for music, and I would just have to sit with my hands trapped to the steering wheel knowing that I had tasted that same air in public performance and that now I was left to suffocate—"

"Robin." Her brother's voice was a cool soak against her skin, and Robin realized her eyes were closed, her voice a tinge hysterical. Her eyes felt warm, and Robin decided to keep them shut. "That's only true if you let it become true," Robert said.

"Which is why I have to leave," Robin finished before Robert could continue. "Every discussion, every little glance…" It ties me to this place, to the people here. "They just remind me how much I miss Plegian." With her eyes still closed, Robin couldn't see Robert's wince, but they were words he had grimaced at many times. Petty, cruel, perhaps even dishonest. "Madame Aversa—"

"Doesn't understand there's more than one way to skin a cat." Robin snorted. Crossing her arms over her chest, she scrunched her eyes, threatening to peep open, shut. "Oh, just hold your disapproval for a sec," Robert said.

"Actually I was trying to suppress some laughter at your goofy expression, but yes, I do disagree with you." The bed shifted a little.

"Robin… Your music academy, it's nice. It's a good opportunity, and I can see that… But perhaps it's not the only way to become this musician you want to be." Robin flicked her eyes open. The ceiling was still stucco. "Just because it's not the easiest path, doesn't mean you couldn't achieve your goal here. Has it ever occurred to you, that if you just asked, Mom would drive you to those piano auditions you did when Father lived here? When we picked you up from Plegian, you were a hopeless, dead thing, not my sister, who was the sun, whether playing piano or buttering toast. There would be more to balance here, but balance is healthy, and I remember a just barely older sister who used to have more to talk about than her piano and her past."

Robert trailed off. He didn't understand, but when his voice was that soft and small, Robin didn't have the heart to berate him. "Perhaps."

"Just… don't make any hasty decisions," Robert said. "Please, weigh your options carefully." The bed springs fell and rose. Robert was gone. It had been a very long time since he had said 'please' for anything from her.

* * *

When she arrived at school, Chrom leant against her locker, blue of his hair almost the same color. A few students tossed her curious glances as Robin bent down to work on her locker. With a quick wave, Robert drifted away. "Don't you have cross-country today? Why don't you go there?" Robin asked.

As Chrom shuffled his feet, Robin saw his socks were two different shades, navy and black. "Technically." The boy scuffed some more at the tile. "But Gaius has been telling me to skip stuff every now and then. And Nowi's got it under control besides."

"Whatever. The more I hear of this, the more poorly planned it sounds. Robert already left, so why are you still here?"

"Actually, I need to talk—er, thank you really," Chrom said. Robin looked up at him. One hand up his shirt sleeve, the boy was tracing his tattoo again. "For Lucina," he said. "She told me everything yesterday, and I want to thank you. I… Sorry, I should have been there."

"Why? That was rhetorical. Don't answer it." Robin couldn't open her locker, and Chrom was beginning to stare at her rather intensely. She stood up, brushing off her pants. "Well, I have somewhere to be, so I'm going to go. But you're welcome. For Lucina." Now she was rambling, too. Dratted Chrom. Turning to start down the hall, Robin heard Chrom follow after her.

"I'll walk with you."

"I'm going the opposite way."

"Well, I'll walk with you anyways."

"Chrom—"

"Robin," Chrom said. He spun her around to face him, hands heavy on her shoulders. With his thick glare directed on her, Chrom was less the bumbling buffoon from a while ago but rather a leader. "I—We—You should—We—"

"Spit it out." Chrom squinted at her. "Is… something wrong?"

"This is easier if I can't see your face, I think. Lucina, and Lissa, seem to think that if I had… a person… to go to the dance with then… Well, you know. The admirers would quit harassing everyone. And… er, well, since you don't have much of a problem with them anyways, I was thinking maybe… Ahhh..."

Chrom's hands suddenly felt heavier on her shoulders. "You—There's not a certain redhead you could ask?"

He shook his head. "Sully hates these things. And dresses. And dancing."

"No. A different redhead," Robin said. If she had to explain this to him like he was some small child, Robin would.

"…Gaius is a guy." And Cordelia was a fish or something, evidently.

"No—"

"Just come with me," Chrom said. He had stopped squinting, and the pleading look in his eyes made Robin pity him. "Please."

* * *

There were five minutes left in Biology, and Ms. Miriel was deep in explanation of plant cell walls. Surprisingly, Stahl was awake. Chewing on her lip, Robin scrawled a note on the corner of her biology notebook. She jabbed 'going to the dance?' into Stahl's elbow.

Slipping her pencil out of her grasp, Stahl scribbled back. 'maybe. work. you?' Robin had always been told her handwriting was bad, but Stahl's was little more than light chicken scratch.

'going with Chrom.' Robin hesitated a little. 'first dance. what is it?'

The bell rang before Stahl could reply, and he held her notebook and pencil out to her. "It's easy. Just go, relax, dance a little bit, let Chrom pull you around in a slow dance or two, and then you leave," Stahl said. As Robin took her supplies from him, Stahl seemed lost in thought.

* * *

The gym was a dimly lit, herd of pulsating bodies. The stands were folded away against the walls, replaced with circular tables of food and fluorescent green and yellow decorations. Looping one arm through Robin's own, Chrom bit his lip, eyebrows crumpled in to some apology. "Well?" Robin asked, shouted really, over the boy band blaring through the speakers, "Are we going to stand in the doorway all day?" Chrom wrapped her fingers in his own, cool but a little shaky and pulled Robin towards one of the tables.

Holding a chair for Robin first and then sitting in his own, Chrom began to bounce a fist against his leg. A plate of cookies sat within arm's length, and Robin plucked one of the round pastries off the plate. Twirling it around, she watched loose crumbs tumble off the cookie and bounce across the hideous yellow table cloth. "Umm…" Chrom raised his mumble over the music. "Uh, you… you look rather pretty today," he yelled.

The silky dress was a remnant from her concert playing days, tight in places she didn't remember it being, and her makeup made her face feel suffocated. Chrom didn't know or realize that though, and whatever gumption he had to work up to complement her left him horribly red. "Thanks," Robin said. "…You, too. Handsome, I mean."

Chrom ducked his head and returned to pounding his knee. They sat in nervous, but somehow companionable, silence. Frederick came by first, to nod at Robin and Chrom, perhaps to ascertain that Chrom's admirers were in fact leaving the boy alone. Then Lucina, looking radiant in deep blue, Cynthia and Owain in tow. Lissa and Maribelle, with Ricken holding Maribelle's handbag. Morgan crouched behind their table, peeking over Robin's shoulder, babbling something about 'watching Inigo strike out again.'

Just as Morgan left, Sumia slipped into her place. Pulling some rumpled purple dress into a smoother form, Sumia took a seat next to Robin. Weakly, the brunette smiled at Robin and Chrom. "How's your first dance going, Robin?" Sumia asked.

"A little better than yours, it looks like," Robin said. It was a little like sitting in a café, except the lighting was crummy, the music was much too loud, and the smell of coffee was replaced by cheap perfume. Sumia tilted her head back to stare at the balloons trapped by the ceiling, and with her dress, deep purple, long, and clingy, Sumia looked like a tragic heroine.

"I stepped on his feet so many times, soooooo many times," Sumia wailed. The brunette pulled her head back down to stare at her lap. "My date left me. Ohhhh, of course he did. I don't know why I thought it would be a good idea, going with a guy to a dance. I mean, me. Me dancing. Dumb idea anyways." Hunched over, Sumia moaned again. "And now I'm ruining your date, too."

"No, you're not," Robin said. Evidently, Sumia had heard about the date from somewhere, because Robin had been trying to avoid mentioning it. And it's not a date anyways, she added mentally. Somehow, though, with Chrom within earshot, Robin couldn't vocalize it. "Does Cordelia…?"

"Yeah, but—" It turned into a squeak. Sumia whirled around in her chair, a flurry of purple fabric, to lean over the table.

"Sumia?" Robin asked.

"Yo, Blue. Bubbles. Heard you two were an item for the night, but daaaaamn, girl—Stumbles?" Hand frozen to reach for a cookie, Gaius peeped around Robin and Chrom.

"Uh, hey, Gaius," Sumia said. She sat up. Twisting some hair around her fingers, Sumia stared at the boy's shirt rather than his face.

"Shouldn't you be with your date or something?" Gaius asked. He seemed to have forgotten about the cookie, preoccupied with studying Sumia.

"Um… Yeah, probably, but, um, well…" Sumia grimaced.

"He ditched her," Chrom supplied.

"Oh." Gaius fumbled for a cookie, eyes flicking from Sumia to the dance floor. "Well, don't worry too much about it, Stumbles. I lost mine about twenty minutes ago." The boy slowly took a bite of cookie. At Robin's glance, he shrugged. "Seriously. The chick's gone. No idea where she went. Left her at a table for five minutes. Vanished. The entire table, too, actually."

"Maybe you looked in the wrong—"

"Well, Stumbles, it looks like you don't have a date, and I don't have a date." Gaius finished his cookie and strode around Robin and Chrom to face the brunette. "So… Look. Seeing you all sad makes me sad. Let's dance," Gaius said. Before Sumia could respond, the boy pulled her up after him on to the dance floor. Robin just caught a glimpse of the brunette's pink face, and they were swallowed up by the crowd.

"Maybe we should um… I mean, er, well. You probably don't want to anyways, so…"

"Chrom," Robin huffed. "Just c'mon." She strode out on the dance floor, hoping Chrom would follow her.

Chrom and Robin stood in the sea of dancing bodies. A little space was carved out for them, whether because of Chrom's influence or coincedence, Robin was unsure. Everyone around her was bouncing, and they continued to stand still. Just as she was about to suggest they at least bounce, Nowi bounded between them, Vaike in tow. "Blue," she chirped. The girl's dress was a mess of pink bows and ruffles, and one of her gloved hands was wrapped tightly around Vaike's bicep, pulling the boy down. "Let's dance."

Lacing one hand with Chrom's, Nowi prompted Vaike to wrap his free hand around Robin's. Chrom stuck his own free hand out for her other. Somehow, whether it was the perfume haze or Chrom's pink refusal to meet her eyes, the hand holding felt different than before. Nowi began to spin their circle around before Robin could contemplate the tingly feeling in her fingers.

But for Nowi's and Vaike's grins and Chrom's blush, the dance was a rainbow, merry-go-round blur. Tharja and Robert whirled by, the Goth looking stunning, but distinctly vampiric, in her slinky black dress. Severa, Kjelle, and some boy who smiled at their scowls melded into Gaius, Sumia, and Cordelia. And then suddenly, Nowi and Vaike were gone, leaving Robin to cling to Chrom in her dizziness.

The world was still spinning, and Robin couldn't find Chrom's face in the spiral. They were pressed flush against one another, and she could feel the rise and fall of his chest against hers. Robin felt warm, light headed, but whether it was from the spinning, her first time being so close to a boy, or simple suffocation from the heavy scent of his cologne mixed with dance perfume, she was too hazy to determine.

Then, the dance refocused, and Robin detangled herself from Chrom. The boy was red, and Robin was beginning to feel a little pink herself. "Cordelia," she cried. At some point the music had slowed, and the redhead was left alone on the floor. Twisting around, Cordelia smiled, hollow once more. Robin stepped a few more feet away from Chrom. "I have... just been spinning with Nowi, and I'm afraid the girl left me a little dizzy. Did you maybe want to…" Cordelia's eyes widened, and Robin just hoped she received her silent apology. "Just for a dance or two, would you keep Chrom company for a sec?"

There was a brief horrible pause, like one of the two was contemplating an objection, but Chrom stuck an arm out to Cordelia. "Dance?" The redhead ducked her head quickly and wrapped a hand around his upper arm.

Chrom and Cordelia melded into the crowd of dancing bodies, and they suited each other. They were beautiful, popular, generally good, even if Cordelia hid it beneath—"Boo." Robin knew the voice, and when she spun around, Stahl's smile greeted her. Hands shoved inside black dress pants pockets, Stahl quirked an eyebrow at her. "You can't just stand around on the dance floor," he said. "I mean, someone might think you've never been to a dance before."

And then he swept her up in a waltz, if one could truly waltz to 90s music. Weaving through bouncing bodies and the perfume haze, Robin decided she and Stahl must look ridiculous twirling across the gym floor as if it was a Victoran era ballroom, and she rather wished Stahl would make some quip about it. The boy was quiet, contemplating some space just over her shoulder. His hand was light on the small of her back, but Robin buzzed where each of his warm fingers wrinkled the silky fabric of her dress. Curling her own fingers into Stahl's dress shirt, Robin pulled him a little closer, so she wouldn't have to shout over the music vibrating the floorboards. "How was work?" she asked.

Stahl flicked his eyes back to Robin. "Good," he replied. They were close enough now that it was more a drifting embrace than a waltz, and Stahl smelled of coffee and something else Robin couldn't quite place, some sort of fruit, perhaps. "Don't worry. I changed my shirt." With his smile, Stahl was back, and it was no longer an embrace but a waltz once more. "How's the date with Chrom going?"

"It's not a date," Robin said. Twisting around the dance floor, Robin found Chrom spinning Sully, desperately trying to scowl but smiling all the same, in a small circle. He was smiling, and it made her happy, she supposed. "How about you?"

"Oh, my date with Chrom is going just grand. We'll probably name our first child… Rose?" Squeezing through a cluster of dancers, Stahl pulled Robin close once more. The ridge of her nose just brushed against his jaw, and Robin found herself idly wondering what Stahl looked like flustered. Would he wave it off, like Gaius? Turn as scarlet as Chrom? "The dance is going pretty well, too. Get to twirl with a charming girl and all," Stahl said.

It was a fluke, caused by the tingly feely in her nose and her prolonged closeness to all these people. Robin knew, with a distinct sense of panicky horror, her face was pink. Terribly, awfully pink at something that was offhand and meaningless. She was too bright to hide it and too close to Stahl to pull away, not without revealing her face. Maneuvering them between the backs of another closely packed pair, Stahl had yet to look down, and Robin knew when he did, she would still be rosy colored.

The boy was already beginning to turn back to her, and something in Robin curled at meeting his eyes. Before Stahl could fully see her, she dropped her head to the crook where his neck ended and shoulder began. It was awkward, abrupt, and Robin clipped his chin on her way down. Pressed against Stahl's neck, Robin felt rather than heard his quick gasp, little, almost imperceptible but for the fact her mouth just grazed his collarbone, and as his fingers tightened the cool silk of her dress, spidery tendrils of warmth crept up her back. "…Robin?"

Stahl's voice so close was more of a vibration, and it sounded a little odd, concern mingled with breathiness and something Robin couldn't place. Like this, he couldn't read her mistake of an expression. The music was still playing, but Stahl had stopped leading them. His jaw brushed against her cheekbone, but before Stahl could move away from her, Robin buried her face further into his neck. The boy's pulse jumped, and Robin could just feel it against the tip of her nose. "O-okay, then…" Stahl mumbled.

They simply swayed. Robin could feel the rumble of the floor, pounded by hundreds of bouncing feet, the jab of an occasional flailing elbow, the crinkle where Stahl's collar folded away from his throat, the rough cotton of that collar on one side of her face, Stahl's skin soft on the other, longer strands of hair just tickling her nose. She was no longer red, just a generally buzzy warm, but Stahl's jaw held her in place. Robin decided to let him continue to sway her.

* * *

**Bonus: The Fine Art of Seduction**

It was time for drastic measures, and Lissa had planned for this moment. "…What are you doing? Why is your face like that?" Lon'qu asked.

"I'm winking at you," Lissa replied. Perhaps she had held the wink too long or something. Her face did feel awfully scrunched. Lon'qu squinted at her suspiciously. "Geez, you give winking a try then."

"Why?"

Lissa rolled her eyes. "I dunno. Why not? To develop a life skill? To see me smile?"

Lon'qu watched the dancers. "Fine."

"I get iiiiiiiit. I guess I'll just—Wait? What?" Lissa paused. It almost sound like Lon'qu had decided to play along with her. Lon'qu twisted himself around. Resting his arms on his pants, Lon'qu stared at Lissa. When he looked at her so directly, Lissa wondered if he could see into her soul, her essence.

Then, Lon'qu scrunched his face together. Lissa giggled, laughed, guffawed, and ended it all with a little snort. Banging her hand against the table, Lissa was vaguely aware she was rattling all the plates, which probably wasn't very ladylike at all. Lon'qu, or rather Lon'qu's ears, were pink. "You squeezed both your eyes shut, silly," Lissa gasped, wiping tears from eyes. "Do you not know how to wink?"

Smoothing his hands against his pants, Lon'qu grimaced. "…I meant to do that."

"Oh, okaaaaaay, then, let's see you wink," Lissa said. Lon'qu rested his arms on his legs again. It made his sleeves ride up, exposing thin, unusually delicate wrists, that Lissa lately found rather distracting. Clearing her throat, Lissa crossed her legs primly. The guys in the movies all liked pretty ladies, and pretty ladies didn't sprawl in their dresses. "I'm just betting my wink is better," Lissa added. Lon'qu scowled. Chrom's pretty movie ladies didn't say things like that. They just winked, and then bam, insta-romance. The wink must have been wrong.

Instead of the scrunch that wrinkled his entire face, Lon'qu blinked, slow and exaggerated. His eyelashes fluttered, very briefly, very pretty movie lady-like. Somehow, Lon'qu had better movie lady game than she did. Lissa burst into laughter again. Tossing her head back, Lissa relished the fullbodied feeling of it all. She straightened back up, and Lon'qu darted his gaze elsewhere. The boy tugged on a rather pink ear. "That one was a blink, Lon'qu. One more try, and I win by default," Lissa said.

"…What do you win?"

"Eh? I dunno." Lissa looked out at the dance floor. Chrom was visible on the outskirts, spinning with a faraway Sully. Somewhere in the middle, she knew Donnel had successfully pulled Maribelle on to the dance floor. Screw being a pretty movie lady. "A dance," Lissa said.

"Fine." Lon'qu stood up.

"Wait. What?" He was already walking to the dance floor, and the current hit song drowned out Lissa's voice. Scrambling after Lon'qu, Lissa ran a quick hand through her hair, across her dress. Lon'qu stopped a few yards away from the other dancers. Lissa stopped at their tacit agreement of five feet. "You don't have to, Lon'qu. I was just teasing."

"…If we're going to dance, you should… step a little—Just a little—closer," Lon'qu said. She must be dreaming. Or dead. Lissa had probably died just before the dance, and this was some sort of reward for being a good laugh. "Hurry up." His ears were pink again. Lissa stepped a foot closer. "Stop. Good." Lon'qu studied the dancers. Lucina was several yards away, twirling with some boy Lissa didn't recognize. "Now, let's proceed with the dancing."

* * *

**Well, the romance side of the plot thickens. As always, I love feedback. I'd particularly love to hear your opinion on the bonus segment, whether you liked it, didn't, who you'd like to see in it, plus all the usual. Thanks!**


	12. Brady - Tea Time

**Author's note:**

**To my charming reviewers:  
**

**Mattariago: Thanks! And it's finally here! TharjaxRobert!**

**pureshadow013: Ohhhhh, Gaius. Only you would lose an entire table. And thank you! I need to find a reason for Morgan to say more words...**

**Whisper6636: Robin and Chrom... She has a surprisingly good grasp on his awkwardness. As for Gaius... well, who's to say what goes through that childish head of his. Morgan and Inigo's support is one of my favorite things. She and Lucina are the only girls I can ever pair with him. Awkward Robin is awkward. Poor Stahl? Lon'qu and Lissa are sooooo the OTP. No matter who I resolve to pair them with, they always find each other... Thanks!**

**Mark-Kris Robin: I don't think Robin really knows either!**

**Random Chicky: Yay fluff! Everyone managed to find someone. :) As for in game pairings, I've done SumiaxFrederick and SumiaxHenry and CordeliaxGaius and it comes to Fire Emblem: Awakening, I ship a rather wide, conflicting variety of pairings...  
**

**JumyoIchi: Thank you! I love rambling!**

**SpookedRabbits: Thanks!**

**Guest: Heheh... I may have had a bit of fun with that.**

**Cormag Ravenstaff: Good thing Cordelia didn't smack anyone though... She'd be scary mad. Anna did not ditch Gaius, so no need to scream. They actually have an interesting working relationship. I just can't seem to find the right spot to introduce it...**

**DietMilk: Yay shipping! As for Chrom and Cordelia... I totally wish it could have happened in game, buuuuut because we're not in game, all bets are off!**

akuma-chan25300: Alllll the supports for FE13. Man, why is everything so cute? As for Gangrel, well, all I can say sooooon, very soon. Robert, well on that front, all I can say is he and Robin got off to a rocky reunion... Thanks!

Concealing Eyes: Thank you! I can't wait to introduce Gerome! He's sooooo adorable.

**Shout out to my shiny, new followers: InnocentSerenade, ShinyEsp, RamuaChan, PrincessMiAmoreCadenza, Concealing Eyes,**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

As the band shuffled out on Monday, Maribelle thrust a pink envelope, pinned between two of her fingers, in the region of Robin's nose. Robin quirked an eyebrow. "What? You couldn't just tell me or something?"

Maribelle sniffed. Robert had mentioned off-hand that Maribelle's family was wealthy, and it showed in the girl's regal bearing and clothes, a pink, ruffled dress Robin recognized Cordelia pointing out as the latest style. "I wouldn't expect you to understand, darling, but I couldn't pass the invitation to introduce culture to your baseborn lifestyle. I require your presence tomorrow after practice," Maribelle said. As Robin took the envelope from the girl's fingers, she caught a strong whiff of lilac. The envelope must have been scented. "My younger brother is serving tea to father and his business associates this Saturday. However, he is lacking in the certain grace required to float from table to table. While I am loath to admit it, I need your… assistance to help him better himself."

Maribelle crossed her arms and pursed her lips. While the girl's voice was nonchalant, her eyes were less so, and Robin could see veiled concern in them. "I'm sorry, Maribelle, but I've actually got something else I need to do that afternoon." Robin chewed on her lip, turning Maribelle's envelope over in her fingers. Robin's name was scrawled on the front in delicate, spidery cursive.

"Your brother will be in attendance," Maribelle said. "And Chrom. Libra, Lissa… Tharja, Virion, Frederick… Olivia? I do not believe you have met. Ricken. And some of Brady's friends." Twisting a delicate silver band around one of her fingers, Maribelle watched Robin carefully. "You would not even have to be there the entire time."

"Fine," Robin said. Maribelle quickly hid her grin. "But I'm going to be in and out," Robin added.

* * *

When Robin found the room Maribelle had written on her invitation, it was already rather crowded. The chairs and desks, covered with white tablecloths, had been scraped together in sets of four, and tea things balanced on a line of desks arranged at the front of the room. The rest of the furniture had been pushed against the walls. Robert's table was already full, him and Tharja on one half, Virion and Libra on the other. Edging around Morgan, who had tossed her legs up on her desk and leaned well into the open space, Robin made her way to Chrom's table.

Drumming his fingers, Chrom sat across from Lucina and another girl, a stranger, because Robin suspected her pink hair would be unforgettable. As she looked up to Robin, the girl squeaked and tugged her sheer scarf a little higher over her face. Robin pulled out the chair across from the girl, who was now entranced by the table cloth. "Hey, Robin," Chrom said. Lucina nodded. "I don't know if you've met, but this is Olivia." Even with her sheer scarf tinting her mouth blue, Olivia was beautiful, a little like a doll in her coordinated white dress and denim jacket.

As Robin opened her mouth to reply, Maribelle silenced the room with a sharp clap. Tugging a blonde boy to the front, she placed a tea tray in his hands. "This," Maribelle said, "is my brother, Brady." Brady shuffled around to glower at the tea guests. Slouched over the tea set in a rumpled t-shirt and jeans, the boy looked nothing like his sister. "Now, he is going to do exactly as I coached him, and you're going to tell him exactly what you think of his performance." Brady scowled at the tea set, and the room drifted into uncomfortable silence. "Perhaps you should serve your guests tea, Brady."

As the boy dropped the tea tray on the nearest table—Brady's friends Robin supposed, Morgan, Owain, and two unfamiliar boys—Chrom resumed drumming his fingers on their own table. Lucina seemed content to sit in silence, and Olivia had begun to chew on her lip, fingers playing with a strand of hair. "S-so," Olivia said. Thankful for the break in the silence, Robin snapped her eyes to the girl. Flinching, Olivia averted her gaze. "Umm, how long have you two been dating?"

Unfazed, Lucina continued to study the wall beyond Chrom. Then… "Chrom?" The boy crunched his fingers into a fist. Refusing to meet Robin's face, he stared at his hands, blue hair grazing pink cheeks. "Oh. I guess I ditched you after…" She and Stahl had what? Robin opened her mouth, felt herself color, and closed it again. It wasn't important anyways. "Erm, well, if you got yourself a girlfriend once I left, that's—" Chrom shook his head. The boy was even pinker, and Olivia's nose was scrunched up, corners of her mouth barely downturned. "Wait. Wait a… Chrom?"

Chrom rubbed his face with a tired sigh, hands hiding his crimson blush. "I've been trying to explain to everyone, but—"

"But?"

With a clatter, Maribelle's brother dumped the tea tray on the makeshift table. Olivia straightened up, exhaling in audible relief. Robin cast him a sidelong glare. If it bothered him, the blonde kept his scowl. "Name's Brady," he growled. "Now, you gonna sit down and drink yer tea or what?" As the boy dropped a little ceramic plate in front of Robin, she gave Chrom a scowl of her own.

"None of us are standing, Brady," Lucina said with a gentle smile.

Brady flinched. "Aw, just…" The boy gritted his teeth and placed cups on the plates with a clatter. His silent growl twisted the scar that cut across his face into a squiggle. Robin could see Maribelle over Brady's shoulder glance at them while sipping tea with Lissa, Frederick, and Ricken. "Maribelle said to practice what I was gonna say to Pa's friends," Brady said. The boy poured out the tea, sprinkling Maribelle's table cloth with an amber rain. "And this is what I'm do." He looked to Maribelle and then leant over the table to Lucina. "Er… Am I doin' okay?"

"Well—"

"Brady, the last table hasn't gotten their tea," Maribelle said, piercing voice causing the boy to start. Robert smiled at the blonde as Tharja, Virion, and Libra continued their conversation. With a backward glance at Lucina's encouraging smile, Brady loped off. Olivia and Lucina began to sip their steaming tea. Chewing on her lip, Robin watched Chrom simply stare at his.

Tilting back her head, Robin downed the tea, wrinkling her nose at the overwhelming scent of mint. She set the tea cup down with a light chink, and Chrom started, sloshing his own cup onto his hand. "Er… Robin. I tried to tell them. Truly. Just, you know how those people are, and…" Chrom dried his hand on the hem of his shirt with puppy dog eyes.

Robin stood up. "Chrom," she said. "I'm sure it's nothing. Baseless rumors tend to blow over quickly. Now…" Robin pushed in her chair and nodded at Lucina and Olivia. "Nice to meet you, Olivia." Before the girl could respond, Robin hefted her backpack up and edged around a frowning Chrom to the door. Twirling in the doorway, Robin looked back to Maribelle. "I guess it was nice, Maribelle. Thanks for inviting me." Shutting the door on Maribelle rising to her feet, Robin made her way back to the band room.

* * *

Slamming the door behind him with the sound of rattling hinges, Brady stormed in midway through her piano concerto. It was one of the critical parts, and as Brady slumped in one of the chairs, Robin decided to continue playing rather than talk to the boy. Then, she heard snuffling. With a groan, Robin closed the piano key case. "Please tell me you're not crying."

"S'not what it looks like. 'M not crying," Brady said, rubbing his eyes with a lacy handkerchief. It was handiwork Robin had seen before, Maribelle's. The boy slouched a little lower in the chair.

"Alright then." Robin twirled back around to the piano. "All I needed to hear." Lifting up the case, Robin resumed her playing. The snuffling got louder, building up to sniffling and wet nose blowing. "Are you sure you're not crying, Brady?"

"N-no. You can't look," he replied. Turning back to face him, Robin found the boy a sniveling mess, soggy handkerchief to his nose in a futile attempt to dry his face. "I'm not crying," Brady announced, sounding the world like a petulant child. With a long sniff, Brady gave Robin a watery scowl. "Allergies."

"Look. I've got an audition in the University of Ylisse North on Sunday, and..." Nose and eyes bright red from scrubbing, Brady nodded. With his heavy metal t-shirt and slice of a scar, the boy seemed fearsome, but hunched over in one of the fold out chairs, slowly accumulating a puddle of snot and tears at his feet, Brady was pitiful.

"Sounded pretty," Brady said in a small voice. "It's why I came." After months of practicing in her snatches of free time, the Schumann concerto was audition worthy. It was why, when Robert slapped the audition calls print out on the dinner table a few nights ago, Robin agreed to go. Definitely not because she was seriously considering his plea for Ylissian North and not because of the little grin he gave her. Brady wrung his sister's handkerchief out on the floor with a small splash. Robert would already be at Brady's side.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Robin asked. She inched towards the end of the piano stool, closer to the blonde.

"No," he replied, dabbing his sorrowful eyes with the slightly drier lace.

"Okay then…" Robin watched Brady sniffle some more from across the room. "Should I pat your back or something?" The boy just shook his head. What did people usually do to comfort each other, Robin wondered. Crying was something personal, and the thought of someone intruding on her tears made her squirm. "Look. Maribelle just wants—Oh, dear gods, I-I think there are paper towels in here somewhere." Despite his attempts to cover his face, Brady began to blubber. Digging through the band cabinets for anything absorbent, Robin supposed if nothing else, she really couldn't make things any worse.

* * *

Dumping her bag on their Biology table, Robin scowled at Stahl's friendly smile. "I hate people," Robin said. Stahl snorted and laid his head down on the table. With a glare, Robin yanked her Biology notebook out onto the table next to Stahl's face. "Do you know how many chemicals you expose your face to when you do that?"

Stahl rubbed his cheek against the table like some giant cat. "Someone's grumpy," he said.

"I made Maribelle's little brother cry for thirty straight minutes. He went through an entire roll of paper towels. Do you understand that, Stahl? I spent thirty minutes of my life handing that boy an entire roll of paper towels in individual sheets," Robin hissed. Robin tossed a glance over her shoulder. Even if it was unlikely anyone in sophomore biology knew the boy, Robin didn't want eavesdroppers. Stahl blinked at her. "So I felt bad—Don't give me that incredulous face—Anyways, I gave the kid my number. Told him to call me if he wanted to talk about it. Sobbed into my damn phone line for another hour." Robin groaned and rubbed her dry, sleep deprived eyes.

Stahl chuckled. "You know, secretly, you're a sweetheart. It's a good thing the guys don't know that, or you'd have admirers crying their eyes out for your number," he said.

"Yeah. Speaking of admirers, did you know that because of the dance, the school thinks Chrom and I are dating?" Stahl shrunk a little under her scowl, and Robin couldn't tell if it was serious or playacting. Massaging her forehead, Robin sighed. "Well, we're not. Just so you know. And you should squash that rumor anytime you hear it."

As Stahl hummed in agreement, Robin flipped open her notebook. His eyes were on her, and Robin could feel the warmth of his gaze. It was the closest they had come to mentioning homecoming, and Robin's stomach felt equal parts twisted and warm at the memories. "I… I shouldn't have said all that. Sorry. Everything kept me up all night."

Stahl hummed again, and his eyes drifted shut. "I told you that you can tell me anything," he said, voice a sleepy slur. As Stahl buried his face in his arms, Robin felt warmth, friendly, blossom in her chest.

* * *

Maribelle sulked, in a ladylike fashion, through band on Wednesday. As practice ended, the girl bustled out, quickly followed by Robert and an unusually serious Lissa. After the band left, Robin squeezed a few minutes of piano practice in before Brady burst into the room. "Maribelle's already gone," Robin said over the chords of her piece.

Brady dumped his bags on a nearby chair with a loud clatter. That was his issue, Robin reflected, a lack of delicacy. Part of it, at least. With a sigh, Robin shut the piano case and turned off the recording she had been playing along with. Turning to Brady, she found the boy gingerly balancing a violin in his large hands. Light catching on the violin's flawless curves, the instrument was beautiful. "I brought my violin," Brady said. Under Robin's gaze, the boy squirmed a little. "By way of apologizin'. For my allergies."

"Yes. Your allergies. You know this really isn't—" Brady scowled at the ground. Was it her imagination, or were his eyes extra shiny, Robin wondered. "You know what, go ahead. Just make it quick."

Whipping the violin bow to the strings, Brady began to play, a piece vaguely familiar from her Plegian days. Letting her eyes flutter shut, Robin listened to his strains, sensitive, emotional, sweet. Whatever care he neglected in his tea, the boy poured into his violin. "Brady, I have an idea," she said. Opening her eyes, Robin found Brady paused in his playing, bow still fixed to the violin. "Well, you only have a few days before that tea thing, right? And, I mean this in the kindest way, so watch your… allergies, when you give everyone their tea cups, you're just asking to break a dish."

Brady winced. "Maribelle and I are—"

"So you should play to your strengths," Robin said.

Squinting, Brady lowered his violin. "What strengths? This a joke or somethin'?" Robin waved a hand at Brady's violin, and the boy twisted to look beyond it at the ground. "I don't see nothin'."

"No, Brady. The violin. You should play the violin at your father's tea meeting. I don't know much about high class events, but I know you definitely sound good enough to play for an audience," Robin said. Brady opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Eyebrows wrinkling together, creasing the boy's forehead, Brady stared at the violin. "You should ask your sister." Brady stretched the violin out at arm's length, mouth still hanging open. "Well, move along now."

Brady blinked and then reached for his violin case. As he packed the instrument away, Robin spun back to the piano. "Thanks," Brady said. "It's, well… No one's ever told me I'm good at somethin' before."

Robin started up her accompaniment for the Schumann concerto. "Well, you are," Robin said. After a few moments, Brady slammed the door behind him. On Saturday, he cried into her phone line for another hour, wailing about how well his violin performance to his father's tea went.

* * *

Whether it was Maribelle's influence or the aftereffect of the gorgeous theatre she auditioned in at the University of Ylisse North, the all-night breakfast diner Robin's mother sent her in to felt especially dingy. Greasy tables, peeling vinyl, mix of elderly people and construction workers, it was a diner that survived decades, and it showed. Squeezing through two closely placed silver tables, Robin made her way to the counter. But for a few coffee makers, a plate ornamented with a crust of pie, and a man chairs down covered in a film of dirt, the counter was deserted. Robin chewed on her lip. There was a little silver bell on the table, and after a few minutes of customers watching her, Robin banged on it. It was a pleasant chime, but no one came out to hear it.

"Hey, you guys—What?" There was a little window in the back, and someone's muffled voice echoed out of it. "I—Fine. Just one of you put these in the oven for me," A sound of clattering dishes, and the voice added, a little louder. "Hang on. I'll be right there."

Robin leant on the counter. The man a few chairs down was beginning to eye her dress, the fancy evening wear for her audition, critically. It was another of her older concert dresses, aqua and a little tighter around the hips and bust than Robin remembered. Just as she could feel herself beginning to color under the man's gaze, one of the workers came out.

They looked to each other at the same time. Robin froze on the counter, her order dried up in her mouth. Paused in the act of wiping his hands on a stained apron, Stahl gaped at her. A dark blush was beginning to stain his cheeks, and Robin couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from the color. "I… Uh, well… I didn't—Wow, um, what are you doing here?" Stahl asked.

Robin straightened up and tugged her dress, suddenly self-conscious of the low-cut blue fabric. "Stahl? This is the job? Why are you working an hour out of town?" she asked. Stahl didn't answer, instead absorbed in moving the cheap dinner pie plate to a spot in the little window.

Stahl leant across the register, olive hair falling across his eyes and cheekbones unable to hide his violent blush. "So… What can I get you?" Long lashes hiding downturned eyes, Stahl wouldn't meet her gaze.

"Hey," Robin forced some demand in her voice. "Look at me." Head still down, Stahl flicked his eyes up at her. He looked like a child expecting to be chastised, eyes a mixture of embarrassment, shame, confusion. "I don't care if you're working some greasy dishwashing job… You can…" Closing her eyes, Robin could feel her face turning pink. "You can tell me anything." It rushed out in breathy hesitation, and saying it made her feel silly and a little buzzy. At the lack of response, Robin peeked open an eye.

Stahl simply studied her with parted lips. "I…"

"Stahl?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing. Really," Stahl replied. Clearing his throat, the boy straightened over the register. "Now, your order?" His tone was impersonal, eyes businesslike. He didn't trust her.

"A large coffee," Robin said. As Stahl fixed a takeout cup with deft, practiced hands, Robin chewed on her lip. The cheer from her successful audition seemed to have leaked out somewhere.

* * *

**Bonus: Strange Illness**

Tharja was sitting on Robert's sitting room floor, and Robin and her mother weren't home. Scowling at Libra's and Virion's feet, Tharja pulled her knees to her chest. Robert, next to her on the floor, stretched over for the playing cards they had long scattered across the carpet. He and Robin had similar builds. Tharja had determined that at once. However, Robert was more lean muscle, just rolling beneath his baggy t-shirts. "You guys know the way out, right?" Robert asked.

As Robert showed the pair the door anyways, Tharja collected the rest of the playing cards. Stacking them into a deck, she shuffled through them. They were Robert's cards, Tharja decided. While she didn't know his mother, Robin didn't seem like the sort to own a pack. Tharja ran a thumb over the 'R' Robert had scrawled on one corner of the joker. It was a little stupid—how was he going to determine if it was his or Robin's—but Tharja could feel herself smiling at the thought. Robert swooped down to sit beside her, gently relieving her of the deck. "So… what now?" he asked.

Tharja started, quickly reverting to a sulk. That smile was a mystery for another time, she decided. They were alone, and this Tharja understood. Shifting herself a closer, Tharja waited, face a foot away from Robert's own. Tharja had kissed boys before, once or twice, and as she remembered, it was always like sticking your face a little too close to a disgusting, slobbering bag of fleas people liked to call a dog. As the seconds ticked on, Tharja decided Robert smelled like his house, cinnamon and books. Arm beginning to feel a little stiff supporting her weight, Tharja fluttered an eye open. Robert, though blurry, looked frozen. "Are you going to kiss me?" Tharja asked.

"Ahahaaa… I was going to ask you the same question," Robert said, leaning a little further back. Tharja frowned and bent towards him. Straightening her expression into a sultry one, Tharja realized, with an odd sense of detachment, her heart was beating unusually quickly. Was she that out of shape, Tharja wondered.

"Do you want to kiss me?"

Robert blinked. "I—Ahhhhh… Wow. Um. Like right now? Because now that we're talking about it, I feel like I should brush my teeth or something." Robert inched back a little further, beet red face clashing with his pale hair. As Tharja crept towards him, Robert slid backwards. His eyes were darting anywhere but to her, and the boy's tongue flicked across his lower lip. Back hitting the sofa with a thunk, Robert let out an audible squeak. Tharja crawled closer and hovered there, her nose a few inches from his. "I didn't even brush them after lunch." Tharja dropped herself a foot away from Robert's lap onto his legs, and the boy snapped his eyes to her face.

He was warm, and as Tharja sat on his legs, she could feel herself heating up. Maybe it was illness. Placing a hand across his heart, Tharja could feel it race, too. Perhaps Robert had gotten her sick. Tharja leant over and nuzzled the boy's ear, relishing the feeling of his breath hitch against her skin. "Your teeth are fine," she whispered. Hardly the most seductive phrase, but— With a shriek, Tharja tumbled to the ground as Robert shot to his feet, face even redder.

"D-d-do you want to—A movie? I have—Well, you don't like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, but you can dig through Robin's room for her stuff," Robert said. The boy smoothed his jeans with his palms, looking everywhere but at Tharja.

"I don't want to dig through Robin's room," Tharja said. Robert flicked his widened eyes to Tharja, and Tharja felt herself blush. Maybe she had made a mistake. Tharja was starting to feel a twisting sensation build in her stomach.

"Then why are you here?" Robert smacked a hand over his mouth, eyes even wider. In an attempt to back away, the boy hit the couch again. Tharja sat there, frowning at Robert's feet. That was a good question, she thought. Glancing down the hall, Tharja could just see Robin's door at the end, filled with little, intimate details of her musical idol's life. But Robert was here. When did he even stop becoming Robin's brother and turn to Robert, that sweet, if oblivious, dummy?

Tharja shook her head and swept to her feet. Wrapping one hand around Robert's wrist, Tharja led his hand from his mouth to her waist. As she released it, Robert didn't move it from her side. He was staring at her, eyes drifting from her own to her mouth and back up again. Tharja's heart really was racing. This couldn't possibly be healthy. "Because your mother's not," she said, slowing down the words into a little breath against Robert's lips. Tharja would think about her health later. Instead, she curled her fingers into Robert's collar, and pulled his mouth onto hers. Wrapping his other hand in her hair, Robert did not pull away.

* * *

**Urrrrgh. I could not motivate myself to write this. Whatever, I like how some of it, at least, turned out.**

**Anyways, look forward to next chapter, which will feature a certain villain and a bonus on Sully!**

**Per usual, I love hearing your opinions in reviews, PMs, favorites, and follows! All of your pairing suggestions, requests, and questions make me happy!**


	13. Gangrel - Manipulated

**Author's note:**

**To my lovely reviewers:**

**Mattariago: Thank you! Not much Tharja x Robert this chapter, but all I can say is stay tuned for the next one. ;)**

**AnimeAngel: Thank you!**

**Random Chicky: Brady is soooo cute. I fall in love with him in all of his supports.**

**namelesspenname: Thank you! As for RobinxStahl well... ;) And as for m!Morgan, I'm trying to rush the rest of the playable characters in, so he should probably arrive within a few chapters.**

**zelda . fan1971: Yay! I'm so glad I'm your first review! Thank you! Yarne gets a brief mention today, and I promise more on him and Panne later. I love Gerome and Inigo. Can't wait to introduce them both. Minerva is going to appear but not as a dragon... :)**

**Cormag Ravenstaff: Omigod. I neeeeed to get Anna up in this joint. So bad. I seriously have a storyline plotted out for her and everything. Urrrrr...**

**Shout out to my shiny, new followers: zelda . fan1971 (Twilight Princess=Best Thing Ever), Pebbles16, Maxforce, Ravenblade313, Emerald's Vengence on . Shadows**, **Kokyou Konran**

* * *

As she walked into practice, a small crowd surrounded Robin's stand. Lucina, tugging a nervous boy she introduced as Yarne behind her, Brady, and Olivia quickly declared themselves new band members and left to find seats. Yarne, whose perpetual fidgeting made Robin chew on her lip herself, squeaked as Vaike sized the new percussion player. Tossing a quick, measured glare at the remaining crowd by Robin's stand, Lucina inserted herself between Severa and Chrom's empty chair. Brady took a seat beside his sister in the flute section, and Olivia gave Lon'qu a small smile while setting up her saxophone.

Sully approached her next, scowl augmented by a split lip. Waving a bandaged hand at Chrom and the remaining boy at her stand, Sully said, "Watch out for that one. Nothing but trouble." Flicking her tongue over her lip, Sully stomped to her seat, catching the new boy with her shoulder.

The student smoothed his shirt, a patterned print made of nice material, with broad, exaggerated motions. Unnaturally pale, his skin did nothing for his deep red, fly-away hair. He glanced to Robin, hooded eyes—one sporting a rather handsome bruise—drifting up and down her frame slow enough to make her blush. She crossed her arms over her chest, and the boy smirked. "So, you're Chrom's girl," he said, a statement rather than a question.

"No, I'm—"

"Robin," he said. "I already know. I'm on the basketball team. Chrom's told us so much about you. The name's Gangrel." Gangrel stuck out a hand, and Chrom jerked forward at the motion. The redhead tossed Chrom a sly smile, eyes feline slits. "What? I can't shake the hand of the team captain's girlfriend?" he asked.

Chrom growled, his own hand hovering just above Gangrel's shoulder. Robin could feel the band staring at them. Sully and Frederick seemed ready to leap from their seats, and all the boy had done was offer her his hand. "Chrom, just sit down," Robin said. "The rest of you, start pulling out your warm ups. C'mon." As the band began to shuffle through their papers, Chrom frowned at Gangrel and slunk back to his seat.

Robin turned back to Gangrel. Something in the sparkle of his eyes made her insides curl. "I'm Robin, which I guess you know." She clasped his proffered hand. Benefit of the doubt and all that, Robin supposed. "Nice to… meet…" Gangrel's grip was gentle on her fingers, his eyes had drifted shut, and the back of her hand was trapped against his mouth. He was kissing her hand like they were straight out of some medieval story book. Robin gaped. "I… I'm sorry?"

"You drop her hand right now," Chrom said. He and Sully both had risen to their feet, hands curled into fists. Robin opened her mouth—To say what? Beg for rescue? Defend the man kissing her hand? Chrom and Sully were hotheaded, but a simple, if uncomfortable, kiss on the hand hardly seemed worth a threatening tone. The band was staring again.

Gangrel released her hand, drawing his thumb along her fingers as it fell. "Something wrong, Blue?" he drawled, giving Robin a lingering glance. Robin felt her face color rebelliously. Gangrel winked at her.

"Everyone, settle down. It's time for practice," Robin said, forcing a hint of firmness into her shaky voice. Chrom and Sully dropped to their seats, Sully slouching in hers. Gangrel sauntered back to the percussion section. Robin pulled out her first score and resisted the urge to wipe her hand on her jeans.

* * *

Robin packed her music away as the band drifted off. As she reached for the last score, Chrom swept it up and handed it to her. He was quiet when he wanted to be, despite his toned frame. Chrom leant on the stand, stormy eyes lost in something beyond her shoulder. They hadn't talked about the dance, Robin remembered, and the thought, combined with uncertainty and the foot separating them, made her chew her lip. "I know it's already been said, but watch out for Gangrel," Chrom said.

Robin sighed. "I'm not some defenseless child. I can take care of myself, Chrom," Robin said, "It'll blow over once he realizes I'm not your girlfriend, and I'm not going to play his game. Honestly, besides being something of a creep, Gangrel seems harmless."

Chrom stretched a hand out to her own, still resting on the music stand, and it hovered there, a fingertip just grazing the back of her hand. The school thought they were dating, Robin hadn't given thought to it at all, and Chrom… But for his fingertip, their hands were separated by an inch of air, enough for her to feel the warmth of his hand on her skin like the warmth of the sun on the soil. Chrom frowned. "Well, he's not. The guy's manipulative, and he gets what he wants. You know how you get suspended from a sports team for two games if you start a fight? Well he's already got Sully on that, and I—Well, Frederick—think he's trying to egg me on into fighting him, too. That's why he's bugging you." Another of his fingertips lighted on her hand, but Chrom glared beyond Robin's shoulder, unaware. "If I'm suspended at the start of the season, I'll lose the captaincy position, and I can't afford that."

He looked tired, angry, more like a child than a student prince. A spark of pity flickered in Robin's stomach. No one else saw this side of him, she decided. "Why's it even matter? I mean, beyond pride," Robin said. "It can't possibly be worth all this squabble. To you or to him."

"Student body president. Why I started the pep band and why I need the captaincy. Emm was president, so I want to be president. As for Gangrel, does it matter?" Chrom growled, low, more a rumble. He locked eyes with her, and Robin swallowed at the sudden contact. Chrom was earnest, painfully so, and his fingers on her hand, just over where Gangrel had placed his lips, felt heavy. "Just—I don't want you caught in the crossfire."

"Outside of a little bit of discomfort, the guy really hasn't bothered me," Robin said. She wiped the back of her hand on her jeans again for good measure. "Besides, I can take care of myself. You should… worry about yourself."

"Well, whatever happens, I want the band to play at our first game on Friday," Chrom said as he heaved Robin's bag over his shoulder. "I'll walk you back. Robert's taking a detour with Tharja. Told me to pass it along." They walked back together in comfortable silence, Chrom tossing the occasional suspicious glare over his shoulder. Despite the boy's evident fear, Gangrel did not follow her home.

* * *

Robin dropped her bag onto the Biology table, and Stahl propped himself a little higher. "Mornin'," he said. He pushed half a pastry, oozing strawberry filling onto its wax paper wrapping, towards her side of the table. Did it come from his diner, where she stumbled across him working on Sunday, where he refused to acknowledge her? Robin shook her head, denying the pastry and her train of thought. She had been much too forward on Sunday, pushing into his personal life, that much was certain. Stahl frowned, very lightly, a little flash of downward corners that reshaped into a neutral smile.

"Hey." Robin pulled out her notebook, and they sat in silence. Yesterday, Stahl had been asleep, and it had been nice. A constant reminder of the fact that he had worked the night before, but nice, because Robin didn't have to talk about, or rather not talk about, it. "So, Gangrel. He's a character," Robin said. Her entertainer mask had surfaced, the one her father coached her on, chirpy but impersonal, a pasted on smile and sparkling eyes. Stiff and impersonal, like Stahl's words to her on Sunday. She always hated the mask.

"Mm, yeah. You know, Cordelia mentioned something about him harassing her after practice," Stahl said. Cordelia hadn't mentioned that to her. Robin could feel her stomach twist. Had she been wrong about Cordelia, too? Was her friendship with Cordelia one-sided as well? "Donnel has English with him. Apparently, Gangrel cheats off of his paper for all their exams. And despite Maribelle's best efforts, Donnel still slips up and uses double negatives every now and then."

Robin raised her eyebrows. It was silent again. Stiff, stifling, like slow suffocation. "I…" Stahl smiled at her. She confided things in him, but he confided nothing in her. Robin decided not to mention her called back for the second stage of her music audition. Despite that eye-crinkling smile, Stahl didn't care. "Never mind."

* * *

The percussion section, without confiding in Robin, had decided to segregate itself. On her left was Gangrel, one hand on his stand, the other on his snare drum, an easy sneer for whoever looked his way. Far on the left, Yarne cowered behind Vaike and Gaius, both of whom were casting Gangrel glares. In the middle, Donnel acted as a neutral shield, oblivious to the antics of the rest. Robin opened her mouth, but at Gaius's glower, closed it.

Robin moved her bag to the piano at the end of practice, and while Chrom shot her a concerned glance, Robin waved it away. As soon as she raised the key cover, Gangrel sprawled across three-quarters of the piano bench, leaning against the keys with an unharmonious chime. "Here," he said, "For you." Twirling a rose in his long fingers, Gangrel waved it in Robin's face. He was in another hideously patterned shirt today, floral, stylish.

Robin flipped through some sheet music the orchestra conductor had emailed her. It was near sight-reading, to expect her to master the piece for her audition Saturday, but to perform again, Robin would. Gangrel tapped her nose with the rose. "I'm busy. Get off the piano," Robin said.

Gangrel laid the rose across her sheet music. He sidled a little closer, and Robin slid a little further away. "Chrom threatened me today," Gangrel said. She could feel his eyes on her, looking for any sign of reaction.

"That's hardly suprising. You going to get off the piano, or what?" Robin asked, voice neutral. She refused to make eye contact.

"I'm good at reading people, you know. What makes them tick at any rate. Chrom is ridiculously reckless and hates seeing people hurt. Awful combination that. His little sister—I was counting on her to run crying to him, but she didn't—she's insecure about her lack of ladylike qualities. That brunette—Sully?" Gangrel was watching her again. Robin could feel his want for a reaction, almost palpable in the feet between them.

"Sumia," Robin supplied. Perhaps this was Gangrel's plan, to sprawl across the piano until she finally snapped. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Right, Sumia." Gangrel grinned, "Got an inferiority complex, that one. Her redhead friend, one mention of Chrom, and she flies off the handle. Then there's that boy… Rather sleepy, greenish hair, likes to glance at you when you're looking elsewhere… I talked to him at lunch. Wanna know what makes him tick?"

"No," Robin said. Gangrel leaned a little closer, fingers easing across the keys until they were a few inches from her own.

"You sure? We talked about you."

"I'm not playing your games. I have things to do," Robin said, voice a little higher than she intended. Robin already knew Stahl didn't trust her. He was too gentle to voice it, but Gangrel would blurt it out without hesitation. Once it was in words, she would cringe, and Gangrel would gloat.

"He's soooo painfully self-sacrificing," Gangrel said, with a widening grin. "He won't even dare to believe you might want him. Doesn't dare to disrupt your budding relationship with Chrom because he knows Chrom is a much more impressive figure. Kiss him. Watch him turn as red as—"

"Just stop," Robin said. "Chrom and I aren't dating. Stahl is my friend. He isn't interested in—" Robin closed her eyes and exhaled. The image was burned in the back of her eyelids, them intertwined, his hand warm on her back, the soapy, clean smell of his shirt. She reopened her eyes. Her face reflected in the piano was flushed. "Whatever. I have the second stage of an audition to practice for, so go away. We're not even that close anyways. Any of them in band."

"Really?" Gangrel purred. "No friends in band?"

It would keep him away from Sumia, Cordelia, Gaius, Stahl. Robin could sort out the truth of the matter later. "Just—Don't you have anywhere to be? My audition is on Saturday," Robin said. Gangrel pushed himself off the piano bench with another chime.

"Well, I do so hate to distract you," he said. Robin slid back to the center of the piano bench. Tossing Gangrel's rose to the side, Robin shuffled her sheet music. "Just, when you do kiss your dear friend—because it's inevitable, despite that adorable denial—could you do me a favor and lock lips in front of Chrom? I really need him to punch someone's face in." Gangrel skipped out the room and clicked the door shut behind himself.

* * *

On Wednesday, she was with Sumia and Cordelia before practice, propped on their stand, when Gangrel arrived, heralded by a small growl from Cynthia. "Robin," Gangrel purred her name like it was some dark prayer. He leant next to her on Sumia's stand, side of his arm pressing into her own. Cordelia glared at him as Sumia shrunk back in her chair. He truly had been bothering them, Robin decided with narrowed eyes.

"Gangrel," Robin replied with a nod. "You need something? We've ten minutes til practice."

"I was just coming to say hi to you, friend." He drawled out the 'friend,' dripping with sickly sweetness. Robin rolled her eyes. Sumia' panic seemed to grow, and Cordelia flipped some hair over her shoulder with a stiff gesture. "It's the last practice before the second stage of your audition this Saturday after all. I simply wanted to wish you luck."

Sumia popped her mouth open into a little 'oh'. "Robin, you didn't—"

"Geez, it's that time already. Good luck," Cordelia said, stomping Sumia's foot lightly. Robin made a mental note to thank the redhead later.

"She didn't tell you?" Gangrel asked, voice a model of mock surprise. His grin was widening again. "I wonder why that could be. After all, you were both so sincere in your defense of her. Sumia could barely believe someone as perfect as you could be her friend." Gangrel cast Sumia a wink.

Robin knew why she hadn't mentioned. Stahl's carefully detached face on Sunday flit into her head whenever she began to bring up the audition. The thought of seeing that on another was dizzying. Everyone was watching her, and her voice seemed to have choked in her throat. She knew, with a horrible, stomach curling anticipation, where Gangrel was leading this. "Gangrel—"

"But you know, Robin and I were talking yesterday, and you know what she told me?" Gangrel turned to Sumia conversationally. Sully rose to her feet. Chrom made to rise, but Frederick kept him anchored to his chair, one firm hand on his shoulder.

Leaning one arm on Sumia's chair, the other on Cordelia's, Sully flicked a thumb across her nose. The situation was spiraling out of control. Practice should be starting, but Robin still couldn't find her voice. It was an impending train wreck, and her feet were anchored to the tracks. "That your mouth spews as much hot air as—"

"Nooooo, Sully, not quite—Wow. That split lip is healing in rather nicely—Actually, sweet Robin here was quite insistent she had no friends in band. At all."

"Oh, go—Robin?" This was the train staff, hopping off to inspect her remains on the track. She could see her silhouette in Sully's scowling eyes, narrowed in confusion. Sumia's face had already crumpled, and Cordelia's fists were balled in her skirt, eyes trained on Gangrel as he slunk back to the percussion section. Robin could feel her skin go cold, her stomach churn, her palms sweat. The pain in her friends eyes, it was worse than detachment. This was what Gangrel wanted, a reaction.

"I…" Robin let it trail off. It was simple to deny. Justifiable, even, but Sumia was hunched over, pink face hidden under a curtain of brunette hair. Every eye but the brunette's and Cordelia's, still scrunched after Gangrel, was fixed on her. Robin's mouth felt dry. She swallowed, crushing whatever was welling in her throat. Robin was not playing his game. "I'm going to get some water. We practice when I return," she said firmly.

* * *

She was halfway down the hall when Gangrel trailed after her. "You really are so easy to read. So insecure about so many things. Romance. Trust. Family. Gods, but it's difficult being as clever as me sometimes," Gangrel said. Robin stood there, listening to his footsteps echo against the tiling. "You don't have to hold all your emotion in, you know. After all, it's much more fun when the opponent shows me how totally demoralized they are. Do you think you could run crying to Chrom for me? It'd—"

"Don't you have a puppy to kick somewhere, Gangrel?" Stahl asked. His mouth was set in a tight, neutral line, voice tight. Arms crossed over his chest, he leaned outside the band room door frame. Gangrel smiled, sharklike, each of his teeth pearly white.

"Come to play shoulder to cry on, lover boy? Perhaps I'll give you two a moment to whisper sweet nothings. Oh, wait. Unrequited love is so dreadfully—"

"Gangrel," Robin said. He bounced back to the band room with a finger-wiggly wave, eerily similar to one of Sumia's. Gangrel brushed by Stahl's shoulder, grinning at the boy's frown. "Stahl, you really don't have to watch me. I'm just going to the water fountain."

"The water fountain's the other way," he said. Robin sighed.

"I think I want to be alone," she said. Robin leaned against a locker, letting herself slump to a seated position on the floor. She felt a little better now, away from the curious gazes and disappointed expressions.

"No, you don't," Stahl replied. He bent to sit at her side, and his proximity was a distraction. He didn't trust her, Robin reminded herself, because if he did, he would have told her about the diner. It didn't lessen the effect though of the sides of their arms brushing together, and she blushed at the slight contact. Robin moved to rise, but Stahl wrapped an arm around her shoulders, tugging her back to the floor at his side. "Robin."

It was almost pleading. Almost. Stahl watched her, eyes carefully neutral, as his thumb brushed rhythmic circles into her upper arm, drawing up her shirt sleeve. Unlike her, he was in control of his emotions, and Robin was struck with a sudden desire to hurt him, to see his face in anything but that gentle, pitying smile. It was unfair, that he should affect her, but she not affect him. "Gangrel told me that if I kissed you long enough, you would turn a rather impressive shade of red."

It would have been enough to turn Chrom into a sputtering mess, but Stahl simply pulled his gaze from her face to the wall. "I'm guessing he was referencing the suffocation I would experience if you did, in fact, kiss me long enough," Stahl replied smoothly. His tone was light, humorous, and his thumb continued its hypnotic stroking, leaving a little line of electric sparks in its wake.

"Have you ever kissed a girl?" It was an innocent, friendly question, and Robin was curious for the answer as much as the reaction. She shifted into him, turning herself to faced him. Stahl gazed out the window, expression unreadable. His hand drifted from her shoulder to trail slow circles in her lower back.

"Mmhmm. A few times." Robin ran a tentative hand up his arm to play with the collar of his t-shirt. Her fingertips slipped under the fabric to graze his collarbone. He shivered a little at that, and warmth pooled in her stomach, at his reaction and at his lingering fingers on her back. Tharja had told her on Monday—unbidden—some story of how she seduced someone that weekend, and Robin was running on little more than that and instinct. "Ready to go back to band, now?"

"No," Robin said. Unsure what to do with her other hand, Robin let it rest on his stomach. Stahl's breath hitched, a jerk against her hand. Robin supposed this was a good sign.

"What's this—" Stahl bit down on his lip as her hand trailed up his chest. He was warm, muscular, definitely stockier than Chrom, and Robin supposed the definition was a byproduct of swimming. His heart thrummed under her touch, and his hand had stopped tracing her back. Robin was close to rattling him. Stahl began again, clearing his throat. "What's—"

"Hey, Rob—Whoa." Robert stumbled out of the band room, gaping at the pair. He smoothed his hands on his jeans and continued. "Should I—You know you have no idea what kind of germs live on that floor. Just reminding you two before you… Uh, well, that's a floor. And that's my sister." Stahl slid his arm from her back with a careful look to Robert. Robert flushed at the action. "Omigod. Have you been—With my sister? On this floor?"

"Robert," Robin said. She scrambled to her feet. She could feel her face turning as red as her brother's. "Enough about the floor."

"I—You—But it's dirty." Robert darted his eyes between the two of them, entire face now glowing with warmth.

"I'll wash my hands," Stahl added helpfully. "If that'll make you feel better."

"Yes. Yes, it would. You go do that now," Robert sputtered. Stahl rose to his feet, brushing his hands off on his jeans with an oddly apologetic expression. A pink blush stained his cheekbones, leaking across his nose and ears. It was endearing, and Robin could feel her mouth quirking up at the corners. As he hurried away, Robin felt happier. "I can never unsee that," Robert added.

* * *

Wednesday melded into Thursday melded into Friday, and Robin was talking to everyone again. Stahl was smiling at her, and Sumia, who had a way of guilting information from her, was insistent that perhaps, just perhaps, she fancied him, because 'after all, who lets someone's cold shoulder on Sunday ruin their entire week unless they're awfully important.' Robin found herself turning the words over in her head as she stood at the foot of the bleachers, watching Sumia wiggle her eyebrows at her from the second row, one hand pointing to the supposed object of her affections. The basketball team was entering the court, Chrom, Frederick, and Gangrel, all somewhere behind her. "So," Gaius said, slinging an arm around her shoulder, "I wrote you a pros and cons list. For a certain special someone." He waved a sheet of paper upside down in front of her nose. "You know they say these lists are awful helpful for big decisions."

Robin snatched it out of his hand with a scowl. "All this says is 'Con: Not me.' How is this—"

Then, the world started to spin, pulling Gaius's arm off her shoulder. A rough hand on her collar tugged the fabric against her throat, and Robin heard in the distance yelling, someone roaring that 'If Gangrel so much as laid a finger to Robin—' The spin of color resolved itself into Gangrel's sneer. His breathe mingled with hers, and the warmth fanning her face made Robin squirm. Gangrel, who looked beyond her to whoever he had antagonized, curled his hand deeper into Robin's collar. "Heya, Chrom's girl," he said. "You know, you really should have just run crying to Chrom for me when I told you to. Now I'm on a tight schedule."

More people were shouting, Robin realized, but to her they sounded miles away. In her peripherals, a fuzzy Gangrel colored blob hovered out beyond her shoulder. "Just don't hit my face," Robin gasped. The tighter Gangrel's hands grasped her collar, the more the fabric squeezed her neck. At her wheeze, the boy lightened his hold. Odd. "I have an audition tomorrow."

Gangrel tossed his head back and let out a short, barking laugh. He looked back to Robin with a smirk, tightening his grasp enough that Robin had to stumble a little closer on the tips of her toes. "You know, I like you, Chrom's girl," Gangrel said. "You don't crack like the others. You keep things interesting. We're similar, you and I. Now be a good girl, and struggle a little so your precious prince tosses a punch at me sooner rather than later."

The world was a little fuzzy, but she could see Frederick, arms wrapped around a flailing Chrom in the distance. Frederick was muscular, but Chrom was determined. He would lose his captaincy for her. She could already picture his puppy-dog face, chivalry poorly masking his disappointment at the loss of his position. "If we were similar, you actually practice basketball, instead of waste all this time playing games," Robin said. "Probably would have been faster, but you're not clever enough to work that out."

Gangrel's smirk widened, displaying his remarkably white teeth in a shark-like grin. "Not clever enough? Who has the upper hand now?"

Robin had said she could take care of herself. If only her oxygen depleted brain would work properly. "I do. You just don't see it yet," she gasped.

"What could you possibly have against me?" Gangrel asked. His smirk darkened into a sneer. There was something he was afraid of. Gangrel had told her everyone had a weakness.

"It's obvious really," Robin replied. She knew it. She was sure she knew it. His hand was tightening again on her collar. Her peripherals were going a little dark.

"Tell me. Now, or your face won't be looking so pretty for your audition," Gangrel said. "You're a smart girl. Right, Robin?"

It clicked, the hazy remnants of a conversation. "I might be," she choked out, "But you're not. You know what I heard about your grades? How's English going?"

"Who told you?" Gangrel shook her by the collar, and Robin mustered enough strength to wrap a weak hand around his wrist. "Who told you?"

Her voice sounded ages away. "I am going to tell everyone what—" At the loss of Gangrel's hold on her collar, Robin stumbled backward. Her legs felt like jelly. People were yelling again, and Robin caught a glimpse of something, before the world was tilting and then black.

She opened her eyes to a rather nice, warmly white ceiling. Robin blinked hazily and propped herself one an elbow. Gods, but her head throbbed. And her knees. Robert leaned against the wall. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Kind of like an ass," Robin replied. She rolled her head around slowly, wincing at the twinge of her throat. They were in the nurse's office, her, Robert, Cordelia, Gaius, Sumia, and Stahl. The alcove for the cot was too small for the six of them, and Gaius, Sumia, and Stahl crammed on her left seemed a little cozy. "I played his game."

"He deserved it," Cordelia replied. The others nodded at her words, and the redhead crossed her arms over her chest. Her shirt, usually crisp and clean, had lost some buttons, stray thread unravelling at the holes, and her skirt had a tear up the side, exposing a thin slit of her thigh.

"What—"

"Quick, Bubbles, what's your name?" Gaius bent over the bed, elbowing his way between Sumia and Stahl. "How many fingers am I holding up? What did you eat for breakfast today? What's your favorite candy?" The three fingers he held up were bandaged, wrapped up like mummies.

"Are you okay?"

"Crivens. We've lost her. I. Am. Gaius. You. Find. Me. Annoying." Sumia smacked his shoulder, halting the boy's exaggerated miming. Gaius winced. Was his shoulder bandaged, too, Robin wondered.

"What happened?" she asked.

Sumia shuffled her way in front of Gaius. "Well… You—Gangrel really—may have instigated a small… brawl. On the basketball court. His supporters on the basketball team kinda jumped to his aid when they saw so much of the band gang up on him—You shoulda seen Cordelia's pretty right hook—Anyways, I was going to defend your honor. Really." Sumia flashed a bruised forearm. "Gaius tripped me."

Gaius scowled. "You tripped over your own feet, Stumbles. I have the grace of a gazelle, and the hand-eye coordination of… Something with a lot of hand-eye coordination. Like I'd accidentally trip you." As Sumia twirled her back to him to pout, Cordelia mouthed a thank you. Gaius rolled his eyes, pale skin very barely pink.

"Chrom keeps his captaincy position by the way, and Gangrel's suspended for the next few matches. We can't play at the next men's basketball game, but all-in-all pretty good." Stahl said, grinning at her despite purpling bruise above his cheekbone. "Seriously, though. You're okay?"

"Mmhmm," Robin said. The bruise she could cover up with makeup. Stahl ruffled a hand through her hair with a smile. Perhaps she would see if her mother would pull over at his diner again tomorrow.

* * *

**Bonus: One of the Guys**

One hand pressing some gauze over her still bleeding split lip, Sully hissed at the sting of disinfectant on her scraped knuckles. Down on one knee, Chrom glanced up at her, eyebrows scrunched in concern. "Sorry," he said. Sully rolled her eyes, and Chrom returned to his ministrations with a gentle smile.

Trapped on the nurse's bed, Sully began to drum her sneakers against the baseboard, stopping them just short of Chrom's ears. If he worried she would kick him in the face, Chrom didn't show it. Nurses' offices, even when the nurse wasn't there, always made her nervous, Sully reflected. Something about all the white, needles, and the fact that one trip was all it took to end an athletic career. "You shoulda let me smash his face in," Sully said, catching a taste of gauze as she flicked her tongue out.

"You would have felt bad afterwards," Chrom said, returning his gaze to her hand. After years of lacrosse, Sully knew her hands were rough, calloused, and when Chrom held one, it was his that seemed soft in comparison. "All your teeth are still in, right?" he asked.

Sully swiped her tongue across the backs of them. There was the tang of blood from her lip, but nothing wiggled. "Yep," Sully said.

"Then what's that gloomy look for?" Chrom was teasing her, mouth quirked into a little grin, the comfortable one he used around Lissa and his guy friends. Which was worse, Sully wondered, to be seen as a sister or to be seen as a boy. As Chrom ran a thumb over her now disinfected hand, Sully could feel the little sparks crackle between his thumb and her knuckles. Biting down on her lip, Sully crushed the start of a hitched breath. "Sor—Hey, you're making your lip bleed again," Chrom said.

Sully pulled the gauze away from her mouth and grazed a thumb over her lip. It came back red. "Who cares?" she asked. No one would find it unusual. She was just Sully, one of the guys.

Plucking the gauze from her hand, Chrom frowned at her. Even his frown was attractive, all dark and brooding, creating a wrinkle along his forehead Sully itched to smooth. "I do," Chrom said. "Now, tilt your head." Sully just scowled at him, and Chrom huffed at her. "Fine, then. I don't know what's up with you, but I'm not going to let you bleed out in the nurse's office."

"Damn it, just—" Fingers curled under her chin, Chrom angled the girl's head upward. Sully's voice seemed to have gotten lost somewhere on its way out of her mouth. "O-Oi, Chrom…" Sully managed to breathe out. His hand on her chin was warm and soft, yet calloused, his eyes focused on her mouth in rapt concentration. Flicking her tongue out to moisten her suddenly dried out lips, Sully felt the gauze against her lip shift a little. Was it her imagination, or did Chrom's eyes darken at the action? Whatever the answer, blood had already begun to pool in her cheeks, only hidden by her tan. "Aw, screw you." Chrom just snorted.

* * *

**Urrrrrgh, I changed this chapter a good five or six times. Ohhhhh, well. More writerly experimentation going on today, so tell me what ya think. Once I read the same passage more than two or three times over, it loses all emotional appeal.**

**Next chapter: Halloween party and another bonus- on who? That's a surprise this time!**

**Per usual, I love to hear your responses/opinions/suggestions in all shapes and sizes.**


	14. Yarne - Four Kisses and One Miss

**It took me soooo long to map out what I wanted to have happen here... I'm just going to leave this mother-of-god long chapter here and hide...**

**Also, thank you so much! I hit 100 reviews (exactly haha) last chapter. You guys are wonderful and sweet and just generally amazing. I'll write something special next chapter?**

**To my lovely reviewers:**

**DietMilk: Thank you! Sully/Chrom is such a cute romance. I'm a total sucker for best friend type things though... And Smash! Omigod I am so excited!**

**Whisper6636: Oh, Gangrel... you creep. Also, let the ships leave the harbor! And Vessels, thank you... I can safely say that's going to updated veeeery slowly until this is done.**

**Random Chicky: Gangrel will return! He IS still technically in band...  
**

**Mattariago: Thank you!**

**OneShotMasta: Thank you! And Gaius and Sumia are toooo cute in game!**

**PrincessMiAmoreCadenza: Gangrel will indeed be in future chapters! Thanks!**

**A Shadow's Lament: Thank you! Chrom may yet deck someone, but not today. ;) As for Chrom/Sully, the real question is 'what does Chrom think?' because, yep, poor Sully's got it baaaad.**

**zelda . fan1971: Thank you! I am reading your story! I just have this bad habit of reading a chapter while I'm out, thinking 'gee, I should review this when I get home,' and then promptly forgetting to review it. As for Sully/Chrom... I guess we'll just have to wait and see...**

**namelesspenname: Gangrel will come back, and more will be explained. You are very right when you point out that things escalated a little quickly last chapter. As far as romance, it's a combination of me trying to introduce everyone else and being limited by Robin's POV. The girl doesn't exactly understand romance.**

**AnimeAngel: Heheh. Maaaaybe. ;)**

**Cormag Ravenstaff: I can 100% confirm Anna next chapter. Yaaay! As for Gaius, I love how you write him! Don't change a thing. :)**

**ChocoIsu: Thank you so much! Inigo and Gerome should both debut in the next few chapters, and they're two of my personal favorites. Also, tell me when your story is up! I wanna read it!**

**pureshadow013: Yesss! I am so happy they included Robin in Smash!**

**akuma-chan25300: Gangrel will reappear. I do, after all, have a redemption arc to write, right?**

**Chief of the Storm: F!Morgan and Inigo is one of my favorite pairings! Those two are such cutie pies. As for M!Morgan... :) Anna will be in the next chapter, so get excited!**

**Concealing Eyes: Stahl is... Well, the next few chapters will resolve a few things... ;) And Lucina's dance partner, funny you should mention, is the subject of today's chapter!**

**Jessiichuu: Thank you!**

**Meg: Thank you!**

**Shout out to my shiny new followers: Chew-a-Pick, Blazing Sceptile, Zmijajuri, InterludeLife, Shinymudkip25, Sorell, richiqeckos, Chief of the Storm, rebelfairpirate, Lazerman789, Jessiichuu, B1ue3xceed Happy**

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* * *

It was the week of Halloween, and Robert was excited. His feet were drumming against his seat in band, eyes shining. "Robert," Robin said, casting an eye at the grinning boy, "has an announcement." Her lack of enthusiasm probably shone through in her monotone, but Robert bounced to his feet, smiley enough for the both of them.

Robin moved to stand by Cordelia and Sumia as Robert surveyed the band. "My sister tells me that for a band, we're actually on the small side, but despite the three days a week we practice, I'm not sure I've even talked to some of you," Robert said. "So I was thinking we should have a little bonding get-together this Friday-Saturday, a Halloween sleepover party at my place. Guys in my room, girls in Robin's, mother will be gone at some neighborhood thing most of the night anyways."

Robert had already run the details by Robin several times to perfect his speech. Robin let her eyes glaze over. She couldn't even remember the last party she went to that wasn't a musician's dinner. She was a little uncertain she had even attended a party of her peers that wasn't a birthday party. Were they like the musician's dinner, where people twittered around in pretty dresses, little flutes of champaigne she was never allowed to touch clasped in their fingers? She sighed. Two weeks before she heard back from the second stage of her audition. As Robin took back her conductor's stand, she crushed the little reminder that the end of October meant one month closer to her Plegian audition.

* * *

Robin couldn't concentrate in practice. When she finally dismissed the band, it was with a little sigh of relief. As she began to pack up her things, a warm hand ruffled her hair, and Robin turned from her scores to find Stahl looking down at her. "Hey," Stahl said. He was giving her his smile again, the one that crinkled his eyes and warmed her belly.

"Hey," Robin replied. Stahl's grin broadened.

"Can I borrow you? I'll walk you half-way home today," Stahl said. His hands drifted to play with a corner of one of her scores, folding and unfolding it. "We're heading the same direction this time."

Robin nodded. It wasn't the first time they had walked together. While Stahl's house was in a different neighborhood, some days he didn't go home, off to some other engagement. After the first time he had waved it off, Robin learned not to ask, just like with the diner. "Yeah. Just let me get Robert, and—"

"Without Robert," Stahl said. He wouldn't meet her gaze, eyes fixed on his hands, still folding. "If that's alright."

He had never asked for her alone. They had been alone together, of course, but Stahl had never asked. Robin twirled around quickly, before Stahl could see her face warming. "Well, c'mon then," she said, grabbing her backpack.

* * *

As their footsteps echoed against the hallway tiles, Robin chewed on her lip. Stahl was quiet, and Robin found herself studying everything in the absence of his chatter. Everything except him. When she looked to him, which happened once and very quickly, Robin could feel her face heat up. Her eyes seemed to drag on his mouth, and her arm tingled as it brushed his. The request for her, alone, twisted something in their dynamic.

"I…" Robin, eyes fixed on the speckled tile floor, caught a glimpse of his worn sneakers before her forehead smashed into his chin. Stahl stumbled backwards a step, wrapping his hands around her shoulders. "Erm, sor…" Her face was pink, which was stupid, because they had hugged and touched before, but Robin stared at Stahl in mild, residual surprise at their collision with her silly, warm cheekbones. "Sorry," Stahl said, lifting his hand from her shoulders to his pockets.

His gaze flicked from her eyes, to her lips, still parted from her gasp at their collision, to her shoes. More to disrupt the silence, Robin shifted her bag on her shoulder with a rustle. It was light, unusually so. "Um… I think I… forgot my scores in the band room," Robin said.

Stahl flicked his eyes up to hers. "I have to go to work," he said.

Robin nodded, but neither of them moved. He was nervous, Robin realized. Stahl couldn't keep his hands still, letting them drift from his pockets to rub his nose, to stretch his fingers. "You could—"

"It wasn't that important anyways," Stahl said, "I'll umm… just head out now."

You could walk back with me, Robin wanted to say, but Stahl's nervousness was making her more nervous. Wringing his hands, the boy turned around and walked—fled, really at that speed—away. Robin walked back to the band room alone. Robin chewed on her lip. She probably could have left the scores here, and a part of her cried for her to just turn around and run back to Stahl. Robin ignored that part.

* * *

When she pushed open the door, her scores were sitting on her stand, pale white against the dark metal. While the band always cleaned the room after practice, most of the chairs were left out as well. The chairs were supposed to go in the band room closet. It was tall, long, gray-beige metal, and, as Robin looked to it, currently rattling. Gaius had locked a freshman in there once, for about five minutes before finally releasing him in front of her shocked gape. Owain still wouldn't go near the closet. With a groan, Robin stuffed her scores in her bag and yanked the closet door open.

Robin supposed, since she had opened the closet, it would be best just to close it and feign ignorancee. In the shadowy corner closest to her, Robin could just see Lucina clinging to a petrified Yarne. Hands still wrapped in the boy's shirt, Lucina was staring at her with the flushed face of a thoroughly kissed individual, chest heaving. "You can't tell my cousin," Lucina gasped. It was now officially too late to close the door.

The younger girl stumbled out of the closet, a hand wrapped around Yarne's wrist. "You know what, I don't even want to—"

Lucina straightened her mussed up dress and looked to Robin with a pink glare. "Yarne and I volunteered to clean up the band room," she said. Yarne looked like he wanted to melt into the floor. He wasn't what Robin would pick for straight-laced, serious Lucina. The boy looked like he had risen up from the Earth, his loose cargo pants hanging low on his hips, tree green shirt advertising something about saving Ylisse forests, dreadlocks doing nothing to obscure his panic. "I-I'm going to put up the chairs."

Lucina walked off, swinging her arms in determination. Robin spun after her. "I'm not going—"

Hands on her shoulders, Yarne turned her back around. Robin hadn't talked to the boy before, but she didn't have to to recognize his terror. His fingers trembled against her skin, eyes darting from Lucina to her to back again. Robin cursed not running after Stahl. "Please don't tell Chrom," Yarne said, voice a panicked whisper. "Do you know what happened to Lissa's last boyfriend?

"No," Robin said. She glanced back to her conductor's stand. "I just need my—"

Yarne's fingers dug a little deeper into her skin. "Neither does she," Yarne said, nearly hysterical. "Chrom's pretty much Lucina's older brother. He's going to kill me."

Robin resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Chrom was about as deadly as a plush teddy bear, but Yarne looked near tears. "Is this why you're so nervous in band all the time?" Robin asked, hopeful the disbelief in her tone would convey the ridiculousness of the situation.

"It's why I'm nervous all the time all the time. Have you seen his friends? Vaike looks big enough to eat me. Sully could split me in half. Frederick's been plotting my death since my sister broke up with him. Chrom probably already knows. He has ears everywhere. Listening to everything." Yarne flit his eyes around the room for good measure.

"Chrom's clueless. Not to mention he can't even compliment a girl without turning bright red. He'd never even contemplate kissing a girl in a closet," Robin said. Lucina inched by with another pair of chairs and a suspicious frown. "Also—"

"Wait a sec," Yarne said. He stared at her in wonderment, hesitant grin breaking his terror, and smoothed her rumpled shirt sleeves. Robin took a step back. "You're Chrom's girlfriend."

Robin took three more steps before Yarne yanked her back, rough in his sudden enthusiasm. "I'm not—"

"I'm counting on you, Robin. You understand my pain. Being with someone everyone else doesn't want you to be with. We could swap intimidation stories. A few days ago, Frederick—we're neighbors—lit a pile of leaves on fire and just stared at me through the flames."

Why was the whole school convinced she and Chrom were dating? And why did it have to cause so many headaches? Robin suppressed a little growl. "I don't—Well, Chrom's fan club has definitely tried things, but I don't think that's what's happening to you. Not to mention they've misunderstood—"

"Vaike tells me in percussion how skinny I look all the time. In cross country last Thursday he kept talking about how easy it would be for me to break something while training. My life is a serious of thinly veiled threats. Thinly veiled threats, Robin," Yarne said, shaking her at each of his last four words. "I can't even sleep at night knowing Frederick is one house down."

"Vaike was probably just concerned, and the fallout from torching your house will keep Frederick from actually setting it on fire," Robin said. "This is ridiculous. Can I just get my scores and go now?"

"You can't go. I need you to save me. Vaike's probably contemplating ruining my chances to have children. Just… you know, get all cuddly with Chrom, and then in the heat of the moment make him promise not to hurt me. And not to order his friends to hurt me. Casual. It's how I got Lucina to go on a juice cleanse with me." Lucina looked up at her name. "Love you, baby," Yarne said, weak grin pasted on his natural features. "Even if your family is nuts," he added in a whisper.

"Her family is crazy?" Robin just wanted to go. Was that too much to ask?

Yarne sighed and shook his head. "You're just too love-blinded to see it, Robin. Anyways, us boyfriends-girlfriends should stick together. I'm sending Chrom to you tomorrow, and you're going to seduce him for me. Please, Robin, I—Oh, sorry Lucina, I was going to help, but…" Yarne said. Lucina rolled her eyes, and Robin thought she caught a hint of a smile on the girl's lips.

Lucina looped an arm through Yarne's and began to pull him away. "You worry too much. I think we can count on Robin to keep her mouth shut," Lucina said. She pushed out Yarne out the door before spinning back to Robin. "Please don't tell Chrom. I… If he knew, he would worry. You know how he is." Lucina looked back to Yarne and left. Robin could feel a headache coming on.

* * *

Gaius was sitting outside her locker the next morning, hard peppermint poised on the tongue he flashed at her as she arrived. Robin dropped her bag on his foot. As Gaius yelped, the peppermint skittered across the floor. "Go away," Robin said.

"I'm wounded, Bubbles. Quite literally."

Robin was tired. Worries over Lucina and Yarne, what she was to tell Chrom, and—inexplicably—what Stahl had wanted to tell her dragged homework out several hours longer than it should have. "I'm not in the mood for—"

"Robin, I heard there was something you wanted to talk." Robin whirled around to find Chrom, hair damp. The boy followed her gaze to take a strand of hair between his fingers. "Showers. We just finished cross-country for the day. Yarne said you needed to tell me something urgent after practice." Chrom turned a little pink. "It involved a lot of… winking. He ran away before I could ask."

Gaius smirked. "Oho, should I give you two lovebirds some alone time?" he asked. Robin had explained to him—several times—she and Chrom weren't dating. Gaius told everyone who asked they were anyways.

"Will you actually go away if I ask?"

Gaius stretched his legs a little farther into the hallway, a barrier between her and Chrom. "Nope."

Robin glanced back to Chrom again. He didn't look like the sort to kill anyone. A little, familiar head of dreadlocks peeked around the end of the hall. Yarne must have followed Chrom from cross-country. "Do you..." Robin was a sap. "Do you have a sec?" Chrom nodded. "What do you think of Yarne?" After a night of debating whether to tell Chrom at all, Robin decided bluntness was best.

Chrom frowned. "Yarne? He's a good kid. Really jumpy though. Reminds me a little of a bunny or something. He's harmless. Why?"

"Right. He's dating Lucina." It rushed out before Robin could overthink it. Gaius contemplated it for a moment and then nodded. Chrom simply stared at her, like she had spoken some foreign tongue the boy couldn't translate.

"Wait. What?" Chrom asked.

He truly had no suspicion. Either Lucina and Yarne were rather sneaky, which Robin doubted after yesterday, or Chrom was a little dense when it came to romance. "Yeah, I found them making out in the chair cabinet after band yesterday," Robin said.

Chrom squinted, blinked a few times, and then turned a slow, creeping pink. "Making out? Like…?" Robin nodded slowly as Gaius made dramatic, wet kissing sounds. Chrom opened his mouth and closed it again. "Why did neither of them tell me this?"

Gaius smirked. "Well, from the sound of it, their mouths were a little busy," he said. Chrom's mouth popped back open. He looked a little like a fish, which, while humorous, was probably counter to Robin's goal.

Robin stomped on the orange haired boy's foot. "Errr, Chrom, are you okay?" she asked.

Chrom shook his head. "I am a-okay. Peachy. Lucina's an independent girl who can make her own decisions," he said, but his voice sounded a little strained. Yarne was still watching them from the end of the hall, making strange finger mashing motions.

Even if Yarne was worried, Chrom was much more reasonable than he or Lucina suggested. Robin nodded. "Oh, good. You know, Yarne thought—"

"Just, don't you think she's a little young to start such an emotionally complex experience? I mean, she's fourteen. What if… I mean…" Chrom waved his hands in some aimless gesture. Perhaps he did need a little convincing after all.

"Yes is probably the answer to whatever question that little brain of yours is formulating, Blue," Gaius said. Chrom flinched, hands stopping abruptly in their waving. Gaius shrugged at Robin's glare. "What? I'm just educating. A chivalrous gentleman like him doesn't understand the rogue's perspective."

"You're stirring up trouble," Robin hissed. "Chrom—"

"If Yarne thinks he can sneak around in closets with my innocent cousin, he's got another thing coming. That boy's not going to be able to have children when I'm done with him." With pink cheeks, Chrom folded his arms over his chest. His muscles flexed at the action, and Robin understood just why Yarne was terrified Chrom would hurt him.

"Just think, you're the innocent cousin now." Gaius pulled a lollypop out of a pocket and with a crinkle of paper, popped it into his mouth with a feline grin.

"Don't—Ignore Gaius. You said Yarne was a good kid," Robin said. Her voice was higher than she would have liked, wheedling. Robin just caught one of her hands mid-stretch towards Chrom's arm. Her hand hung in the air between them, and Chrom frowned at it.

"He's corrupting Lucina. With his… dreadlocks and nature… and—and—I don't know, but that boy's no good. He's leading her into closets," Chrom said, with a glance to Gaius. Gaius nodded supportively.

"But what happened to harmless?" Robin asked.

"The boy's a monster, Bubbles," Gaius said.

"No. You don't get to talk. Chrom—" The bell for first period rang, shrill and piercing. Chrom, still red, whirled on a heel as Robin groaned. "I hope you're proud of yourself, Gaius."

* * *

Chrom wasted no time confronting his cousin. In practice, Chrom and Lucina shared a stand, per usual, and it quickly devolved into a fight over stand custody. Watching the two argue made Robin a little sick to her stomach. It ended in a clatter as Lucina shot to her feet, knocking over the stand, shrieking that 'she only wanted not to worry him.' Robin ended practice early. Lucina was gone before she could finish, Chrom and Yarne the only two to not watch her leave.

Amidst the packing band members, Yarne wiggled his way around stands and chairs. "Robin… I—"

"You're not talking to Lucina again," Chrom said. He yanked Yarne back into the second row. The younger boy stumbled over Sumia's chair leg with a squeak. "You made her upset. You and your… your… I'm just trying to protect her. If you take her anywhere near a closet again, I—"

"Stop," Robin snapped. "Yarne's cleaning up the band room with me today, and I need him in one, unthreatened piece." Chrom released the back of Yarne's shirt with a frown. As Yarne cowered, Chrom elbowed around him. His face was darkened with anger and a hint of guilt. Robin spun after him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Look. I get you want to protect her, but she's only going to hate you if you make a spectacle of it. Relax a little," Robin whispered. Chrom's ear was pink as Robin turned back to Yarne.

Once the room was deserted, she and Yarne packed away the chairs in silence. Robin placed a pair of folding chairs into the closet with a sigh. "I don't get it," Robin said. "Why you and Lucina would make out in that closet. Why couldn't you just wait til you knew you were alone?"

"Well, we thought we were alone," Yarne said. The bitterness in his voice was like old, black coffee, long cooled on the kitchen table.

"You were at school though. Even if you thought you were alone, you're at school. You don't just…" Robin searched for the words but couldn't find them.

Yarne seemed to understand. "With the right person, should it matter?" he asked.

"But you knew what would happen if you got caught."

"Well, in that particular moment, all I was really thinking of was how pretty Lucina's smile was. Her real one, not that stiff one. It's like… I can't even describe it, because it's for me. My smile, and whenever she grants it, it's something precious and private. If I were to explain it, it would be a violation of our trust." Yarne smiled, but it faded quickly, like a passing shadow. "There's not someone like that for you? Someone where one minute you're talking to them, the next minute you're kissing them, and you don't even remember stepping closer?" Yarne asked.

"I don't get it," Robin said. It sounded a little scary, potentially dangerous, and the closest sensation she could recall was the school dance. Robin folded up her next chair with a clatter, cutting her train of thought before her face could heat up.

"Clearly," Yarne said. "If you weren't so heartless, Lucina and I would still be a couple."

"I'm not playing this game. Seems to me the guilt should be spread equally among a lot of people," Robin said. "And I think I'm supposed to get the least of it." The thought didn't stop her internal cringe at Lucina's heartbroken flight from the band room. Robin placed the last chair in the closet and slammed the doors shut.

"You were supposed to be my ally." His voice was desperate, and Robin was glad she still faced the shut closet doors. Robin tightened her hand around the closet handle. The cool was grounding. Robin could image Yarne's face, crumpled and betrayed like Lucina's.

"Your shield, actually. If you want me to help, prove it," Robin said.

"Prove it?" Yarne whined. "I just explained my devotion to her. Robin. Please help me. Robiiiiin. Robiiiiiiin. Robiiiin, pleeeeaaaase."

"For someone fixated on self-preservation, you sure have a death wish." Robin ripped her hand from the door handle and turned to frown at the boy. He looked as heartbroken as she imagined. "We're done with this."

Yarne lunged for her, hands wrapped around her shoulders once more. His grasp was firmer, desperation hardening it. "Noooo, wait. Please. Please. Please. Please. I'll cry," Yarne said. His eyes did look a little shiny. "I can't do this by myself, but I can't not do this either."

"Here's the deal. You drop that. Now. That Halloween party of Robert's? I'll talk to Chrom about you. You persuade him to let you date Lucina." Ducking out of Yarne's grasp, Robin whirled out of the band room.

* * *

On Wednesday, Lucina and Chrom sat next to each other in icy silence. Yarne, however, was much calmer. Before Robin could confront any of them, however, Sumia and Cordelia steered her out of practice to Cordelia's house. In the name of 'finding Robin a dress that didn't look like something my mother would wear,' Sumia and Cordelia raided the red-head's closet. It was nice, distracting, watching the pair pile dress after dress, even if Robin was exhausted afterwards. When Robin finally left with a black number so tiny Robin blushed looking at it and a pair of shoes—Cordelia had nice shoes. She noticed that a few weeks ago, when the red head's cast finally came off—, Robin felt lighter than she had in days.

Then it was Friday night, and Robin was intensely regretting that same dress. Robin knew it was too tight, mostly in the bust and hips, but also just everywhere. Squeezing it on at Cordelia's had been a miracle, and Robin now found herself yanking the fabric over her hips with just enough force to inch the fabric upward while keeping her hair, twisted in some elaborate bun Sumia had to arrive early to fix, in place. People had started to trickle in, muffled voices in the hall. Robin wiggled, doing little to pull the fabric over her curves. Cordelia was too damn skinny. "Oi, Robert, which room?" It was a male's voice, and Robin exhaled in relief. They were headed to her brother's room, not hers.

"Shit." Robin jerked her head up to see Chrom, face as red as a tomato, mouth hanging open. Robin clutched the dress to her chest, but her brain couldn't seem to function any further than that. She stared as Chrom stared. The boy backed up a step into the doorframe, and the collision seemed to jumpstart him. "H-he said left. Your brother. He… left. Left door. This is your room?"

Robin grabbed the nearest thing to throw at him. Her sneaker ricocheted off the corner above Chrom's head. "Shut the damn door," she shrieked. Robin's face warmed. Hopefully, Chrom would just interpret it as rage.

Chrom clicked the door shut. "I am sooo sorry. So sorry. You have—"

Robin clutched the dress even closer to her chest. Despite his attempt to stare at her face, Robin caught Chrom's eyes barely flicker down at the action. Robin could feel her flush, like his gaze, trailing down her neck. "I meant with you on the other side," Robin hissed.

"R-right." Chrom was frozen. He groped for the doorknob, unable to rip his eyes from her. Robin fumbled for her zipper, and with a determined tug, she slammed the zipper upward. Ignoring her new inability to breathe, Robin stalked over to her door. The dress fit. Kind of. "You look nice. The dress," Chrom added.

"The doorknob is here," Robin said. She whipped the door open and gestured Chrom outside. As the boy walked by, Robin couldn't meet his face.

* * *

When Robin entered the living room, a few of the band members were already there. Morgan sprawled across the couch between Yarne and Owain, Cynthia somewhere by her feet. Tharja trailed after Robert as he organized food in the kitchen. "Hello, Robin." Robin spun around to find Kellam at her shoulder. "Heh. I guess I snuck up on you. Your face looks a little red."

"Robert's room is back that way."

"He showed me. I actually have a message for you," Kellam said. "Stahl's going to be running a little late. He's got work tonight. Said he meant to tell you, but you guys were both busy. Little sad he's got to work at the pharmacy tonight, eh?"

Stahl hadn't mentioned a pharmacy to her, unless pharmacy was code for diner. "Y-yeah," Robin said. Kellam smiled at her. He expected something more, and Robin's brain seemed stuck on 'pharmacy.' Stahl told Kellam things, things he didn't tell her, and the thought stung. "He's a good guy though, even if he's a little forgetful." Kellam laughed, and Robin laughed weakly along with him. When Donnel cut in, Robin escaped their conversation.

The party was like a musicians' dinner, Robin decided, except that there was a lot more skin and the food was mostly salt and sugar. Tharja slunk by her side on the couch. "You look tense," the Goth said.

"Thank you," Robin replied. Perhaps she had been a little preoccupied. Cordelia had floated away to stand on the outskirts of Chrom's conversation with Sully and Frederick, but the thought of Chrom scared Robin away from that conversation. Sumia and Gaius had vanished somewhere long ago. Stahl still hadn't arrived, and it was almost quarter to ten. Yarne kept darting his eyes around the room like he expected some attack, from her, to Chrom, to Lucina, to his friends, and back again. Tharja scooted a little closer. "Sorry. I don't know where Robert is. Or Virion. Or Nowi. Or whoever you're looking for."

Tharja flicked her eyes from Robin to Chrom. "I have an idea. One that could solve a few problems."

"I'm not in the mood—"

"Including one with a certain someone's cousin."

The words hung between them. Why did Tharja have to be so observant? "Fine."

* * *

Robin supposed, as Tharja shut the closet door behind them, she should have been suspicious when the Goth asked her to remove about half the coats from the closet. She should have been more suspicious when Tharja wouldn't let her see what she was doing with the bottle Robin gave her. "I think Tharja might have rigged Seven Minutes in Heaven," Robin said. "If that's possible." Chrom was little more than a dark, fidgety shadow in the closet. "You should say something, else it's going to be a long seven minutes."

"I-I'm sorry. Just… About your room. Robert said left, but he meant his left and not my left, and I guess I didn't really think about it. And then I opened the door, and you were there, and my brain kinda froze. In a good freeze. But also a bad one. Veeery bad. I just—"

"Don't even worry about it. It's forgotten," Robin said. "Just… knock, next time." It wasn't forgotten. Chrom's red, shocked face was imprinted on her brain, and the memory was making the closet feel cramped.

"So closets… I guess I can understand why people… Why they… I mean, it's definitely a very intimate space. For intimate things. I mean, I think our hands must have brushed at least five times now." Chrom laughed weakly. Robin could feel the tips of her fingers just around her own. She must not have even noticed the first four times. Was this what Yarne meant about not even realizing the transition between talking and kissing?

Robin shook her head, more to clear her thoughts than anything. "I suppose. It definitely feels warmer in here. Probably—"

Chrom's laugh sounded fuller in the darkness. "I was a little worried that was just me."

"It's not just you." They were stuck in an enclosed space with layers of heavy fabric. Why would that be just him? They drifted into silence again. All the closet was doing was making her think of Yarne and Lucina. She had told the boy she would talk with Chrom, and now Robin didn't really have an alternative. "I guess… Perhaps the heat… encourages people to do things with other people they wouldn't usually do… I mean, someone responsible—"

"If someone hypothetically thinks something romantic about while they're stuck together in a closet, it's probably just the heat," Chrom said. Robin smiled encouragingly. Perhaps Chrom was better at subtle than she thought.

"Yes," Robin replied. "So, whatever happened, as long as both parties were okay with it, it should probably just be ignored by the general public. Because of the heat."

"Right. As long as both parties are okay with it."

Yarne would be pleased. "Right. Which I think both parties are so—" Chrom placed a chaste kiss on her lips. His mouth was soft and cool on hers, the touch of his hands gentle on her shoulders. "Chrom?" she gasped.

It wasn't unpleasant, his mouth on hers as he planted a firmer kiss on her lips. Robin stood there as Chrom moved his hands from her shoulders to her waist. In movies, the woman wrapped her arms around the man's neck, so Robin, her own hands suddenly feeling very present, did. She felt Chrom jerk under her touch, bumping his nose against hers. "Errm, I'm sorry… Was that no—"

He kissed her a third time, tongue brushing its way hesitantly across her mouth. Robin heard the rustle of a coat, felt the scratchiness of its fabric against her exposed skin, as Chrom pressed her into the closet. His hands on her hips pulled them closer together, knee colliding with hers. Robin gasped at that, and Chrom snuck his tongue inside her mouth.

Another strange, but not unwelcome, sensation, Robin decided. Surely it had been more than seven minutes, though, of Chrom's shaky hands, his nervous exploration of her mouth. After a moment, Robin mimicked his actions and determined Chrom tasted like mint chocolate. Chrom pulled her closer, a hand snaking up to twine in her hair. "It took me twenty minutes to do that bun," Robin mumbled over his lips. "No touching."

She felt rather than saw Chrom's smile as the boy trailed shy kisses, damp from her own mouth down her neck. As his hand drifted from her hair to her shoulder, Robin tilted her head back to give better access to her skin. This was a distinctly nice feeling, she decided. Robin sighed. Somehow this didn't seem quite what Yarne described, too aware, analytical. Chrom took the sigh as encouragement, turning more attention to her collarbone.

* * *

When Tharja released them from the closet, Robin stumbled out, blinking in the sudden light. Chrom followed after her, a hand just grazing the small of her back as he steadied her. He smiled down at her, very briefly, before returning to his seat. Unlike his powdery pink cheeks, Robin's felt cool. "You feel a little more relaxed?" Tharja asked.

"That was more than seven minutes," Robin said. It was practically an eternity, an eternity Chrom may have read a little in to.

Tharja shrugged. "You used those extra minutes well. I don't think you had that bruise when we shut you in there."

"Huh?"

"That's what happens when you have fun a little too long." Robin scrambled off to the bathroom. Robin stared at herself in the mirror. If she squinted, her face looked a little flushed. Further down, just above her collar bone, a small, redish-purple bruise was beginning to bloom on her pale skin. Tharja's smirk was just visible in the mirror. "You're welcome."

When they walked back, the room was staring at them—her. Robin scowled, and the more bashful ones looked away. Chrom's flush deepened as Vaike elbowed his shoulder. "I'm out of the game now, right?" Robin asked, flopping down on the couch, out of the circle.

"It won't work if you rejoin," Tharja said. "Now, the left of Robin is Yarne, so…" The boy shot a panicked glance at Lucina, but the girl ducked her head, poking a finger into the beige carpet.

"I-I'm not so sure—"

"Just go ahead," Robin said. It came out snappier than she meant. Something about the mark on her skin irritated her. "I'm willing to bet," Robin said, with a glare at Tharja, "it'll work out just fine for you."

Yarne spun the soda bottle over the carpet. As Lucina buried more fingers into the carpet, the plastic came to a muffled stop. Lucina and Yarne both cast Chrom hesitant glances. Chrom was far away, thumb rubbing across his lower lip in a slow, thoughtful caress. Lucina placed a hand on his shoulder. Chrom jerked. "I'm sorry. What?"

"You've placed a ban on me and Lucina in closets," Yarne said. His voice was shaky, but his frown was firm.

"Huh? Oh. Ohhhh," Chrom said. Chrom cast a quick glance to Robin, before flushing even deeper. Robin felt a strangely curious. Chrom was so very open about his emotions in a way Robin couldn't seem to be. Robin smiled at him, a test to see his reaction, and his ears turned pink. "P-perhaps, I was a little—"

"Well, she's going with me whether you like it or not," Yarne declared. His eyes were screwed shut. "Lu-Lucina's kind and smart and beautiful, and I'm not going to wimp out on this, because even if I need a little help, now and then, I can… kinda stand up for myself."

"Erm, yeah, I'm saying that's—"

"Lucina and I are going to make out in that closet, and you're not going to stop me," Yarne said. He rocketed to his feet with a triumphant glare.

"I'm not stopping you," Chrom said. Lucina gave her cousin a quick hug and swept to her feet. "Just, watch where you put your hands. And you only have seven minutes. At a second past, I'm finding you… Errr… Well, I'm sending someone else to open that closet door. I… perhaps I under—Just go on, Yarne, Lucina."

* * *

The doorbell rang as Yarne and Lucina were in the closet, and Robin hopped to her feet. Fishing for her shoes—Sumia and Cordelia had both given her strict instructions to wear them for Stahl. Robin was ignoring the implications of that—and adjusting the strap of her dress to hide the mark on her collarbone, Robin hurried to the door. She pulled it open to find Stahl on the other side, lazy smile and a rumpled collared shirt. "You're late," Robin said.

"Hello to you, too," Stahl replied. He shoved his hands in his pockets and trailed his eyes down her frame. Under his slow gaze, Robin felt just as flushed as when Chrom had walked in on her. "Is this even my Robin? This girl is in a dress… and heels… and, by the gods, I think that might be nail polish?"

"Oh, shut up," Robin said and stepped aside to let Stahl in. They sat together on the couch during Seven Minutes, talking about everything except work, the pharmacy, the diner, Robin's turn in the game. As Henry began his favorite horror movie, Robin swept to her feet and began to collect the dirty dishes that littered the room like Easter eggs. Stahl, with a yawn, picked up the rest. He followed her into the kitchen, cracking the door behind them.

They passed dishes in silence, Stahl running them under her sink, Robin drying them. Neither bothered to flip the light switch, and they cleaned the dishes under the moonlight peeking through the windows and the living room light oozing out the cracked door. "I know Kellam delivered my message for me, but what I wanted to talk to you about… It wasn't that I would be late," Stahl said. "I mean, it was. But it also wasn't."

"What does that mean?" Robin asked. Their fingers touched as he passed her a plate, his soapy, slippery, impossible to grasp.

"It means… Ahh, this is so very… Just… Close your eyes."

"Wha? Why?"

"I can't say it with you looking at me," Stahl said. "You'll read all my tells, and then you'll see how nervous I am."

Robin set the dish down and closed her eyes. She was nervous too for some reason, which was silly because this was Stahl. He wouldn't smack her when she had her eyes shut. "Okay, go."

"My father runs a pharmacy. Family-owned business. I run the register some afternoons. My older brother was meant to be the heir, to take over the business. Then, one day, he declared he wasn't. Said he wanted to do something else instead. Dad was… upset. He built the business out of nothing, you see, and while he liked the guys he started it with, really wanted to go into his son's hands."

This was what Kellam thought she knew. But Robin was willing to bet Stahl wasn't working the register at some pharmacy past eight on Halloween. Kellam probably didn't know about the diner, then. "Oh, Stahl…"

"Then, one day there was an advertisement. A month or two after I turned fifteen. They needed a part-time cook for that diner. When you're fifteen, there's some stuff in the kitchen you can't do, but you can do a lot, especially for the simple food they served. I shouldn't have. I knew it was wrong as I asked my brother to drive me to the cook interview, but I was excited. Thrilled. When they offered me the position, I agreed. It was stupid and selfish and—"

It was strange hearing Stahl's voice rise and fall, tumbling through a scope of emotion Robin itched to see on his face. She screwed her eyes shut tighter. "You're not stupid, and you're definitely not selfish," Robin said.

"Every time I stand over that grill I think 'I could do this the rest of my life and be happy'—even just scrambling eggs and flipping burgers. And I know even as I'm thinking it, that it's wrong, and I shouldn't be thinking that at all, because I can't. Why should my desires rank above my parents? What have I done that I can place myself above them?"

"You're overthinking it, Stahl. It's your life."

"I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing. Besides wasting time and lying to people. You and my brother—and him only because he drives me—are the only two who know. My school friends think I work in the pharmacy all the time, and my parents think I'm at a friend's house all the time. It's a matter of time, really, before it all blows up in my face. But I keep walking into the diner anyways."

He sounded heartbroken. Robin couldn't see his face, but she could feel his presence at her side. On a whim, Robin fumbled for him, wrapping him in her arms. It was different, somehow, when she initiated the hug, nerves zipping like little electric charges. Stahl curled into her touch, circliing his arms easily around her waist. Robin let her much shakier fingers thread through his hair with gentle strokes. He nestled into her neck with what was almost a purr, tugging her closer at the action. "Err… i-is this okay?"

"Feels nice," he mumbled. Robin listened to Stahl's slow, careful breathing against her ear. Her skin felt super-heated, and Robin was a little surprised Stahl couldn't feel it through their clothes. Usually, he was the one to stop whatever she was pushing. Instead, his fingers found her back, tracing delicate nonsensical patterns across it that seared her spine. Stahl sighed against her skin, and Robin squeaked.

Robin wanted to curl into a hole, but Stahl still held her trapped in his arms. One of his hands ghosted its way up her back, between her shoulder blades, grazing the nape of her neck to gingerly pull the bobby pins from her hair. The strands unraveled across her face and neck in pale tendrils. The bobby pins dropped onto the floor with little metallic echoes. Robin couldn't seem to breathe, his warmth forcing the air out of her lungs. Instead she hazily counted her bobby pins falling to the ground.

Robin fluttered her eyes open. Stahl hovered over her, gazing curiously down at the blood Robin could feel pooling in her cheeks. He had twisted their hug around, trapping her against the kitchen counter between his strong arms. Robin wasn't sure when his hands shifted her, but her skin seemed chilled without his touch. Was this what Yarne meant? Stahl dragged his hands up her arms, over her shoulders, frowning at the slight interruption of the straps of her dress. Robin sighed at his fingertips tracing her collarbone. "What's this?"

His voice was warm, sweet, and tempered with an underlying hardness. Robin only had to feel his thumb rubbing circles just above the bone for her stomach to curl in realization. "Oh. That. Seven minutes in heaven. I didn't know what I was doing, and Chrom didn't know what he was doing, and—"

"So he left a nice big no touching sign," Stahl said. Entranced, he stared at her bruise. "I guess I should've known." With a shake of his head, Stahl moved back to the sink.

"It was innocent. It doesn't mean anything," Robin said. Perhaps it was true, perhaps it wasn't, but she just wanted him back. The kitchen was cold. "I didn't—"

"Mmm, it always means something," Stahl said. The metal in his voice had vanished, and the gentle humor that remained was more painful. "Now, we were supposed to be washing dishes?" Robin nodded.

Stahl washed the plates while whistling a little, tuneless melody. Robin tried to dry tehm. When they reentered, Robin dodged Chrom's curious glance to her hair, instead looking to Lucina and Yarne cuddling in a seat for one. Yarne flashed her a quick grin, mostly obscured by Lucina's shoulder. Robin felt a little sick.

* * *

**Bonus: Invisible**

People didn't see him. Kellam accepted that, which was why he was a little perplexed by the current situation. "I need some advice…" Olivia twisted a strand of hair around a finger, her other hand playing with one of the leaves on the faux plant at Kellam's side.

"Fr-From me? Sure," Kellam said. He was probably dreaming, dozed off on Robert's couch somewhere. Pretty girls didn't exactly approach him. They came up to Stahl, sometimes Donnel, but Kellam could count the number of times a pretty girl asked him for advice on one hand. Once. Right now.

"It's just… I don't know what to do," Olivia mumbled. She really was as beautiful as the gossip claimed, doe eyes, soft voice, vanilla smell. Kellam's palms were already beginning to sweat. "I keep trying to talk to people, but I just… whenever they turn around to look at me, I don't know what to say. Everyone probably thinks I'm a weirdo or something." Olivia peeped up at him through long lashes.

Kellam smoothed his palms on his pants. Stahl and Donnel were nowhere to be found. It was just him and Olivia alone in the corner of the room. Kellam swallowed down his nerves. He could do this. He could talk to a cute girl. "Th-they don't think you're strange, Olivia. Everyone here is really nice. I bet they just can't wait to talk to you."

"But what do I tell them?" Olivia bit down on her lower lip. Kellam was suddenly very aware of the fact he was staring at her, but she was so like a porcelain doll, it was enthralling. "It's like my brain goes blank once someone looks at me."

Should he be happy or sad he didn't have this effect? Kellam pushed the thought aside. "Well, just talk about something easy… Like food. Everyone likes food. Go tell them how good the cookies Maribelle brought were."

Olivia frowned, and even that was adorable, wrinkling her nose into a little dot. "I… could do that. Just tell everyone how tasty they were… but then what?"

Kellam grinned. "You've started the conversation. Just let the rest follow naturally."

With a giggle, Olivia patted the top of the potted plant. "You know, you're a pretty good listener for a tree. Well, wish me luck." Delicate smile on her face, the girl skipped off.

Sighing, Kellam watched her tug hesitantly on Chrom's shirtsleeve. He aimed a light kick at the potted plant by his side. The pot was ceramic, and all kicking it did was make Kellam's foot hurt. "Stupid plant." There was a very brief moment where Kellam thought she actually noticed him.

* * *

**So this chapter ended up reeeeally long. Oh, well... Next chapter, Anna debuts! And Cordelia gets the bonus section!**


	15. Anna - Minerva, Goddess of Wisdom

**'Eyyyyyyy, guess who's not dead. Unless at school is another way to say dead. In which case yes.**

**Well, believe it or not, I actually have an update for the chapter, so get excited. Fair warning: my writing style's probably different now. Hopefully not bad, though?**

**For all my regular readers (if you guys still exist. sorry, sorry.) a recap:**

**Robin is finally acclimated to her position as conductor of her high school marching band. Unfortunately, most of her life is still up in the air. Her brother Robert, who has unbeknownst to her recently started dating Tharja, is pushing her to audition for piano performances from her new home. Robin has taken his advice and should hear back from her first audition soon. Then there's Chrom. The majority of the school seems to think they're dating, and after a round of Seven Minutes, it seems Chrom might, too. Oblivious to Chrom's feelings, Robin finds herself thoroughly confused by Stahl's. After confiding in her the cooking job he's been keeping secret from his parents, Stahl seemed to almost initiate something romantic before pulling away abruptly. With little more than a veiled reference to Chrom's affections, the boy seems willing to forget the event entirely. Fortunately, the rest of her closest friends, Sumia, Cordelia, and Gaius, remain constant, a support buffer as Robin pushes on. In the near future, Robin needs to decide if she will audition for a scholarship for Plegian, her old music school. However, she still has not even begun to approach it.**

**To my lovely reviewers (sorry if I miss you. Once again, blame it on the time gap):**

**whovian18: thank you! pretty sure everyone's had at least one 'let's just pretend I didn't walk in on your make-out sesh' experience. generally mortifying for all involved... As for romance... let's just say it's building.**

**Laude: 1) heheh. Yes, I do have a poorly maintained AO3 account. Glad you found this one. 2) Stahl is a precious angel that needs to be protected at all costs. No matter how this all goes down, you have my assurance he leaves happy. 3) The Morgans are not related to the Robins. Because it's been awhile, here's the breakdown of introduced children:**

**Cynthia idolizes Sumia.**

**Owain and Lissa have, as of yet, no known relationship.**

**F!Morgan is M!Robin's chess club underclassman.**

**Yarne is Panne's younger brother.**

**Lucina is Chrom's cousin.**

**Brady is Maribelle's younger brother.**

**Severa is Cordelia's younger sister.**

**Kjelle and Sully have, as of yet, no known relationship.**

**4) Thank you!**

**insertxcoolxnamexhere: You're making me blush! I'll have to keep that under consideration for m!Morgan. I have to agree. He and Henry are another matched child-parent pair. As for pairings... both Inigo and Cherche will be introduced soon. And Frederick will get his day in the sun!**

**Matthew Terra: Bam! New chapter!**

**Blazing Sceptile: Thank you! A certain someone actually debuts this chapter, a certain someone with links to a lot of characters that have been sorting of fading into the background. Unfortunately, introduced characters just have to struggle with new characters until everyone's all one happy band family. Or Robin needs to meddle more. :( **

**richieqeckos: Heheh. No one's quite out of the romance woods yet. As for Chrom and Anna, they're going to get some good scenes in the future. All I can say. That and that I was heartbroken to discover they couldn't romance in game.**

**The LoZ-Fan Yami-Chan: No, no! Complaining is good! I'm trying to work on my romance writing, so this is good! When you find a pairing, you point it out!**

**Guest: Poor Chrom has been bumbling on the edges of that for a little while now. Did Robin like it? Not so sure Robin quite knows either. People aren't her forte, and she's not much better with feelings either. As for the S-support, it... could get a little racier? There hasn't been too much full-blown romance, but if there's a call for it... I'll try anything once!**

**ChocoIsu: Take an even longer chapter! I love LucinaxYarne, mostly because in game she doesn't try to change him. He changes for her, and if that isn't adorable, I don't know what is. As for romance, it's building!**

**Random Chicky: Kellam will get his time to shine! Why perhaps... (actually I can 100% confirm) next chapter!**

**pureshadow013: Frederick's love for fire gives me life. Whadda nerd.**

**Concealing Eyes: Heheheh. Cannot confirm nor deny SumiaxGaius. Heheheh.**

**Chew-a-Pick: Not a good day for the average guys. Not to worry. They'll get a good one sometime soon!**

**Cormag Ravenstaff: Annnnnnnaaaaa! She's finally here! With a major, recurring part! Not gonna lie, I loved writing her. And I love her in general. And don't shoot, because I swear the Anna-Gaius interactions will indeed come into play. And I'ma catch up on your fic.**

**Mattariago: I have to catch up on your fic, too! Tharja will be back next chapter to solve more problems!**

**DietMilk: Thank you!**

**Shout out to all my new followers/likers! Love all y'all crazy kids!**

**And now... After a long hiatus...**

* * *

It was Monday afternoon, setting sunlight pouring through the broad windows of the school hallway, and instead of Robert, Sumia, or Stahl at her side, Robin was walking out of band with Chrom. He was quieter than any of the other three would have been, and it was refreshing, Robin decided. The chatter of the others, while interesting, was just a little exhausting, and Robin's body already felt heavy. "Are the two of you fighting?" Chrom asked. At Robin's raised eyebrow, Chrom colored pink. "You and Stahl. You kept tossing him weird glances all practice. N-not that I was watching. Well… um… just a little… Unless you mind. You just seemed… upset about something."

"We aren't fighting," Robin said. She and Stahl were getting along just as they always had. Perfectly one hundred percent normal. There was that minor detail. That one little issue where Stahl's blurry, flushed face had imprinted itself into her brain, but other than that totally normal. Of course, that particular innocuous image resurfaced at the most random times. Like mid-class, mid-conversation, and right now actually, Robin thought as a blush of her own started to blossom. "It's nothing. Now, you wanted to ask me something about band?"

Chrom's hand drifted to his tattoo. Narrowing her eyes, Robin watched his thumb caress his bicep. This was a nervous tic she had long filed away. "Um. Yes. Do you think we should… uhhh… rearrange the saxophone section?"

"No. Why? Did I do something wrong with their seating arrangement?" Robin asked. Chrom flinched. He had suddenly, over the course of the week, gotten extremely jumpy and generally pinker than usually. Robin watched his face turn red in mild fascination. It was a little like watching the speed ripening of a tomato.

"No! No, you're fine. Um. Yes. Well… I… uh… actually kinda wanted to talk to you about something else, but you and Cordelia were already talking and I needed a reason to get you and…" Chrom glanced to Robin, and Robin realized she had been staring. She pulled her gaze from the boy to the tiling. The brief glimpse of Chrom's even redder face made Robin flush as well. "Er… W-w-what… uh… Are you… Ahhh… Hang on. Give me a sec." The boy inhaled, exhaled, and inhaled again. "What are you doing?" Chrom blurted out.

"Watching you perform some sort of antic?"

Chrom winced. "S-Saturday. What are you doing on Saturday?"

"Nooothing? Do you want us to do a gig somewhere?" Robin asked. It had been awhile since they had performed, and her fingers almost itched for it. Even the piano alone hadn't been enough, lately. Not that she disliked it, but there was something about conducting, a certain exhilaration the piano lacked. Robin couldn't shake the urge she needed to pursue it.

"No. Well, yes. But like a just-you-and-me gig. Without music. Because it's not a gig," Chrom said. Robin squinted at his bright red face. He had lost her. Cordelia insisted Chrom was very smooth with girls, but Robin was also suspicious this was one of her fantasies, like Chrom's supposed dancing skills—which weren't bad, but definitely didn't 'induce swooning within a five foot radius.' "Gods. I-I-I'm sorry. Lissa said I should be witty, but… Oh, I can't believe I just… Ummm…"

"Just say it straight out," Robin said. She didn't have all day, and if Chrom kept tripping over his tongue, it would be a long walk back to her house.

Chrom sighed in relief. "Let's go bowling on Saturday. You and me. And Robert and Tharja. Like a thing, you know? A 'thing' thing."

It almost sounded like a date, but Robert and Tharja… she didn't think they were dating. Tharja fancied him, as she recalled, but Robert, the boy who blushed at the sight of an ankle, Robin couldn't picture him with a girlfriend. Besides, Chrom hadn't called it a date, and even if he had, it wasn't like she had anyone else anyways. Unbidden, Stahl's lidded stare and parted lips resurfaced. Robin bit down on her own bottom lip. "Sure."

"Good. Uh. Good, good, good." Chrom glanced down at her. "Um. Wow. Um… Sorry. I didn't really have anything planned to say after this. I figured you would say no. Had this massive speech written out for it. Soooo, how—"

He stumbled into her side with a grunt. Robin peered around him to find a redhead on the ground. "Well, hellooo, handsome. Lend a girl a hand, will ya? She just walked into you and bounced right off." The redhead stuck out a hand. As Chrom and Robin stared, she tossed them a quick wink. "Little faster than that—"

"I am going to murder you, you—you—"

"Too slow." A rather large boy, face purpled to the color of the t-shirt stretched across his chest muscles, barreled around the far corner of the hall. The girl tilted her head back and groaned. "Victor," she cried. The boy's plum colored face scowled even deeper. "Upside down, you almost look homo sapiens."

"You sayin' I'm gay?" Victor, plowing down the hall at full speed, was terrifying. He was built like a bull, large in every aspect, beady eyes trained on something red. If Robin was the girl, she would be more concerned that Victor could wrap one hand around her waist and crush it. That was, in fact, what she was a little concerned with right now.

Before Robin could propose they run, the girl leapt to her feet in one lithe motion. "I'm saying you lack intelligence, sweetheart," she cooed. Victor let out a roar as the redhead wiggled between Chrom and Robin with a giggle. As Chrom's hand wrapped around Robin's, the redhead peeked over their shoulders. Victor skidded to a halt inches from the pair, still snarling at the girl between their shoulders. "Wherever is your brother, by the way?"

As Victor surveyed them all with a twisted glare, Chrom pulled Robin closer to his side. When she attempted to stand her ground, the boy's tug only tightened. "Suspension. Where you put him with your… your…"

"My newspaper feature on the intimidation tactics he's been using on your fellow classmates to cheat off of their work? Please, dear, don't strain yourself. I know your brain is just as pea-sized as his." The girl propped her head on their shoulders. She smelled very floral, a soft scent at odds with her sly tongue. "Have I met either of you formally? Name's Anna, might know me as the newspaper editor, or the Secret Seller?"

The newspaper… they had mentioned that a few weeks into English, but Robin had waved it away almost immediately. Sumia had claimed the entire operation was insanely cut-throat. The newspaper was very popular anyways, and the articles, while gossipy, were supposedly well written. Chrom squeezed her hand, and Robin turned back to Victor. The boy was still gritting his teeth at Anna. "If you were as smart as you think you are, you would have written on me, too," he said.

Anna sighed. "Yes, sweetie, I know you're cheating, but I need you to lead me to the rest of the members in your little ring. Just enjoy your freedom while you've got it. Now, let's see… you're Chrom, obviously… So you must be Robin? Are you two here to rescue me?" Anna said. She didn't trust this girl, Robin decided. Something about Anna's impish smile screamed warnings at her. Victor may be a bull, but Anna was something sneakier, deadlier.

"Just back away from us and the red-head." Victor ceased his growling at Anna to gape at Chrom. Robin groaned. The school prince was, of course, a do-gooder.

Victor clenched a fist, flexing his impressive biceps. "You don't turn around, and I'll smash your heads in." Sighing, the Robin raised hand to massage one temple. She really didn't have the time or patience for this. Gangrel from two weeks ago had left her with more than her fill of bullying. Victor ground his teeth. "Starting with your little girlfriend."

Chrom snatched Robin's hand in his, almost crushing her fingers in his suddenly tense grip. "You lay a finger on her, and I'll—"

"Listen. We saw Gregor coming this way down the hall. The guy's huge. You'll probably be the one with the smashed head if he sees this." Robin frowned at the hulking boy towering over her. Victor tilted his head slowly to the side, contemplating. "It's really not worth it for a little scrap like her. Right?" Anna and Chrom, thank the gods, remained silent. With a grunt, Victor turned on his heel and fled. As the boy turned out of sight, Robin extracted her hand from Chrom's and looked to Anna. "You're welcome, I guess. You also have a death wish. Just so you know."

"Pfft, I flirt with death on a regular basis. Death even flirts back, sometimes. Can't help that I'm irresistible." The redhead shot Chrom a roguish wink. "Anyways, you're the transfer student. We haven't really met in nonlife-threatening circumstances, so let me introduce myself again. I'm Anna, the Secret Seller or the school newspaper editor. I wheel and deal in those things people don't want anyone else to know. I know everything about everyone, and—for a secret of your own—I might just write a little somethin' somethin' on your object of interest."

Anna stuck a hand out to shake, but Robin ignored it. There was something off about this girl. Something in her eyes was distinctly wrong. "If you know everything about everyone, why do you need their secrets as currency?" Robin asked.

Anna's perpetual smirk widened. "I like you. She's a keeper. Now, as it so happens, I think I owe you."

Anna was still smiling at her, Robin realized. The redhead thought she was owed something for the rescue. "Don't even worry about it. I'm not interested."

"Mmmno." Anna took a step forward. "Now, what would you like?" If someone could threaten to fill a favor, Anna probably just had.

Chrom made some odd noise at her side. A warning or encouragement, Robin couldn't tell, but it did nothing to shake her suspicion of the editor. It was her smile, Robin decided. No one should turn their smile into a weapon. "Honestly, everything about your business is leery. My business is my own, thanks."

Anna's Cheshire cat grin didn't falter. "First, I'm a reputable businesswoman. We don't leer. Second, this little pure hearted hero of justice act is cute, but why pretend? Everyone's out for a profit. So, what can I do you for?" Anna asked.

"Nothing, thanks." Robin edged around the editor and just hoped Chrom would follow. Behind her, Anna cleared her throat.

"I don't think you understand, dear." Despite its softness, the redhead's voice echoed down the hall. "I take debt very seriously. Now, what would you like? A nice feature on you? Air out some of your musical genius?"

"Just consider this a favor. I did this for you for free," Robin said. Chrom had indeed followed her, although she could see him tossing glances at Anna over his shoulder.

Anna giggled, and for a brief moment, the hallway was quiet. "Oh, wait. You were being serious? Listen. I could bring you to the top of the school food chain. We could kill Chrom's fan club in one fell swoop. I rule this school. Anything you want, I can swing. And let me just say, I've been tossing around ideas for your story for quite some time now."

"No. Just no." Interviews were a headache. That much Robin definitely remembered. That and that they had a nasty habit of dredging up all the past she didn't want to surface or remember. Friends, family, ambitions, nothing was private in these things.

"Riiiight," Anna called. "Well, I'll have the paper mock-up tomorrow. Whenever you change your mind, approve it. If we just slide in the right interview, you'll have one rich paper." Robin had already decided never to see the editor again.

* * *

When Robin walked into Biology on Tuesday, another boy, a stranger, was already sitting in Stahl's seat. The class itself was quiet, but Robin could feel more curious glances on her back as she passed each row. When Robin approached her seat, the boy in Stahl's place leaned back. "You're in my way," Robin said. And in Stahl's seat, she finished silently.

The boy gave her a slow once-over. His eyes were curious rather than malicious, but Robin resisted the urge to squirm under his gaze anyways. "So you're Robin."

"Do I know you?" she asked. He was still measuring her, and Robin almost wished Stahl would arrive right now. Not to defend her, but just to be present, a warmth against her side amidst all the strangers. That was something that had never bothered her before—being surrounded by strangers.

"U-um, no. You were in the paper today." The boy flipped open the newspaper. She was sitting at a piano under the spotlight, dramatic in black and white, the cover article. Robin knew that picture. It was an older one, from her fourth or fifth concert. "And we recognized you—"

She snatched the paper from his hands. "The hell is this?" The boy popped his mouth open and closed like a gasping fish. It was Anna's newspaper, and there was the girl's name, right under the front page's title. Anna had written this article. Robin only had to skim it to see it was her history. Every single concert she had ever played at, from her first at seven to her last at fifteen, they were all here. Her hands felt very cold. Her head felt like it was swimming somewhere in the clouds. Robert would worry. And then there was everyone else. All of her friends who wouldn't learn this on her own terms, but instead in some skewed version spat out to suit whatever Anna's regime was. She had to shut that down. Now.

Dashing out of biology, Robin turned a small circle in the hallway. Bouncing to see over the heads of other students, Robin couldn't find a single clue as to the room's location. If she knocked on every door, she'd find the newspaper club room eventually, Robin supposed. "Lost something?" She didn't have to turn around to see his face. Stahl's voice alone was enough to dredge up memories of Friday night and send Robin's stomach plummeting to her feet. "I've been told I'm an excellent finder. Mostly of food, but maybe it carries?"

Spinning on a heel, Robin scowled at Stahl's easy grin. Warmth was starting to spread to her face anyways. Stupid, rebellious fair skin. "I'm looking for the school newspaper. Anna. They've got a room, right?"

"It's by the counselor's office on the second—Hey!" Robin made four long strides before Stahl trotted to her side. "Uh, class? That's not happening today?"

"Anna and I have business. That needs to be sorted now."

"Doesn't Anna have class?" So Stahl hadn't seen the paper then. Robin suppressed a small sigh of relief she only just realized she had been holding. When had it even begun to matter what people thought of her? Then again, if she was responsible for the leadership of an organization, it was only natural to worry about her member's opinions. Right? Stahl was frowning at her, eyes scrunched in concern rather than their usual mirth. He wasn't just a band member. Suddenly uncomfortable under his gaze, Robin skipped up the steps two at a time. "What's going on? Robin. Robin, just slow down for a sec."

Peeking into the newspaper club window, Robin could just catch a glimpse of its red-headed editor digging through a stack of papers. "Looks like Anna doesn't have class either."

"Either? Robin, we have class." She pursed her lips at him and slammed the newspaper door open. The room was a cramped mess. Old computers lined the walls, and stacks of newspapers littered the floor. Sparing them a lazy glance from the center of it all, Anna returned to her papers with little more than a quirk of her lips. She'd wipe that smug look off her face soon enough, Robin decided. Wading through the sea of papers, Robin left Stahl to straighten up the piles she kicked over.

With the harsh fwap of quickly unfurled paper, Robin held the newspaper in the air at Anna's side. The red-head snorted and set down her papers, some log incomprehensible and unimportant to Robin. "It's always the same with you types. Busting down doors first, asking questions later. I mean, my gods, so predictable it's positively dull." With a sigh and a shrug, the redhead flopped into a nearby chair. "Please. Sit down." Robin scowled deeper, and Anna rolled her eyes. "Or not. Stand and be uncomfortable then."

"I'm not here to banter with you," Robin snapped. "Recall your newspaper. Now. Fix it."

"Fix it? It doesn't work like that, dear. The paper's already been distributed. I couldn't recollect them all if I wanted to." Anna propped her long legs on the chair intended for Robin and gave her a long stare. The redhead's eyes were cold, calculating, at odds with their warm color. For the second time today, Robin resisted the urge to squirm. "Which one of my reporters interviewed you?"

"None of them? You? Your name's on the article. Don't pretend you didn't dig this all up online, Anna," Robin said. "Look. All I want is for this to go away. Take it down. Now."

"Or I could not." Anna studied a strand of hair she had twirled around one finger. Even sitting still, the editor exuded dangerous, coiled energy. "You know… I don't think I will."

"Wh-What?" The sound of the newspaper crinkling in her fist seemed even louder in the silent room. "This is my life. My business. You-you can't just write about my childhood, without my permission, and then refuse to take it down when I ask," Robin said.

"Who interviewed you? Give me a name, and I can verify the permission."

"You!" Robin said, flailing the newspaper cover in its editor's face. "Your name is on the freakin' front page. Right above this invasive quote above my first concert you ripped off of someone else's interview." Balling up the paper, Robin tossed it at Anna's lap. "I spent months accepting the fact that I would have to move back to this one horse town. I don't need this reminding me that I use to live somewhere where I could be something. And you know what else I don't need? This screwing up what I'm building here so—"

"Hey." Stahl's touch on the small of her back sent an electric shock up her spine. Robin could sense him rather than see him again, and it was making her buzz. "Relax. You're shouting." But he couldn't make her relax. Not with his hands burning through to her skin and his murmur tickling her ear. Stahl last Thursday could have relaxed her. Stahl today muddled her. Flushed her skin. Letting him come along was a bad idea.

"Oh, my. Does the boyfriend know about this one?" And distracted her, too, apparently. Robin grit her teeth as Anna rose in a fluid motion, swinging her feet off the other chair. "Anna, editor of the school paper, the Secret Seller. Want me to write your story?"

"You stay away—"

Stahl chuckled gently. "Thanks, but I doubt it'd be interesting. Just an average guy." Anna paced around them anyways, eyes flitting over his frame. Stahl's hand withdrew from her back and left Robin feeling cold. What was it she wanted then? The hazy, distracting heat or the lonely, isolated cool?

"Don't—Don't distract me," Robin hissed. As Anna rounded her side, the redhead met her glare with a feline smirk before returning to Stahl.

"Oh, I could market you, sweetheart."

Robin lunged for her. "Robin!" Stahl wrapped his arms around her before she could get a finger on Anna. Pushing a hand against the arm around her waist, Robin wiggled in Stahl's grasp to glare at him. "I-I'm sorry. We're leaving."

"What? We're not going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere. Let go of me, Stahl. Now." Her demands fell on deaf ears, and the arms coiled over her shoulders and waist only tightened under her struggling. All a shot to his side got her was a sharp exhale against her ear and a weakening in her knees.

Anna raised an eyebrow at the blush flooding her skin. "It was a pleasure, doll. Robin… not so much. Come back when you're feeling a little nicer, and we'll see about doing business."

"Stahl! Stahl! Let go of me, now!" The arm wrapped around her shoulders was strong, pinning her arms between them. Robin balled her hands into fists anyways and beat against his chest. Stahl half-dragged, half-carried her out of the room. He set her on her feet in the hallway. "You ass!"

"Robin…"

"Don't 'Robin…' me." Stahl had enough nerve to look guilty. Pushing against the arm around her waist again, Robin could feel a flush rising again. It was only because she was upset. Definitely not because her unfortunately attractive, very platonic best male friend was pining her to his side. Dangerous territory, there. Upset, she was upset. "You-you manhandled me. I was in the middle of an important discussion, and you just—"

"Caught you before you gave Anna a black eye?" Robin could feel his chuckle vibrate in his chest through her splayed hand. "But really… are you okay?" Stahl asked

He was pulling her into his energy again, warm, comforting, a little like sitting by the fireplace, except the fireplace had nice eyes. Dark colored, long-lashed eyes that were currently studying her expectantly. "No! No, I am not okay." Robin was not about to let Stahl sweep her away. With another firm push, Robin felt his arm fall from around her waist. Stumbling back a few feet, she could finally breathe properly. "My privacy has just been invaded, and you want me to play nice with the girl who did it? I'm not. And I'm not asking for your support, or permission, or whatever you think I need from you first."

* * *

As Stahl opened his mouth, Robin spun on her heel. He didn't follow her—thank the gods—or try to call after her. Half running, half stumbling down the hall, Robin just needed air. Busting open the first exit she could find, she collapsed against the back of the school and buried her face in her hands. Bringing Stahl had been a disaster. When had he become so godsdamn distracting? If he was nearby, there was no way she was going to be able to handle Anna. With a growl, Robin jerked her head back up

A boy was staring at her, a huge black cat wrapped in his arms. They both watched silently as the cat wiggled out of his arms and padded over to Robin, poking its nose into her elbow with a meow. "Gah—Minerva, don't." Minerva began to rub against her side anyways as the boy spluttered. Cats, Robin wondered, were they the ones that could sense depression? Minerva blinked up at her with a face unusually knowing for an oversized fluff ball. "I told you to stay away from strangers," the boy hissed, kneeling down and pulling the cat back into his arms.

"It's just a cat," Robin said. Minerva, curled up against the stranger's chest like a small child, meowed again. An intelligent cat that peeked over the boy's arm to wiggle its nose at her, Robin amended. "I don't think it needs to worry about strangers."

The boy huffed but didn't move from her side. "Minerva's not just a cat. And Minerva's a she. Not an it," he said. Just visible under the hood of a jacket, his sharp eyes, twisted into a glare, aged his face, but everything else about him, from his childish pout to his mismatched socks, did the opposite. He was her age. Maybe younger. Under Robin's gaze, he flushed, pulling his hood further over his face. Minerva wiggled out of his one-handed grasp to hop in Robin's lap.

"Well, it seems Minerva likes me," Robin said. Something about the warmth in her lap eased the knot in her stomach. With a hesitant hand, Robin began to stroke Minerva's back. The cat buried its face in her chest with a purr as the boy gaped.

"You must have food in your pockets," he muttered. Crossing his arms over his chest and properly sitting at her side, the boy continued to sulk. "I already fed her today by the way. So Minerva probably doesn't want any of your food anyways." Petting Minerva was a bit like what Robin imagined stroking a cloud would be like. Soft and soothing. "And she likes it more when you scratch behind her ears. Bet you didn't know that."

"Is it a contest?" Robin asked.

"N-no." The stranger pulled his hood over his face again, but it did nothing to hide his blush. "Whatever. Minerva. Let's go." Minerva let out a plaintive meow. "Nngh. Fine." The boy jerked his gaze up to Robin with a scowl. "You're upset. Minerva says so."

Robin laughed, weirdly high and a little breathy. So even the cat could tell something was wrong. If only Minerva could tell her what. "No I'm not." Gods, that sounded pitiful even in her own ears, Robin decided, just as high and breathy as her laugh. The stranger didn't even flinch. Glancing down to the new, pinching sensation blooming in her hand, Robin found Minerva biting down lightly on the skin. If a cat could scold, Minerva probably just had. "Fine. Maybe I am. So what? Why should I tell you anything? You even have a name?"

Robin wasn't even sure how to explain it all if the boy asked. "Dunno. Don't care, either," he said. Minerva stuck out one little paw and hitched a little claw in the stranger's coat sleeve. The boy huffed. "Fiiiine, Minerva. I'm… mildly—very mildly—concerned. Only because my… acquaintances will get upset if I don't help a—and I quote—"damsel in distress" again. And one or two get scary when they're angry, so—Whatever. Gerome. You're carrying all your tension in your shoulders."

If more blood rushed to Gerome's face, there'd be none rest for the rest of him, Robin decided. She squared her shoulders—Were they tense? Rolling them definitely felt better—and frowned. "I don't need your help," Robin said. "I'm—"

"Fine?" Gerome snorted. "Your emotional health is important. Not only is it critical to your mental state, it's also critical to your physical health and decision-making. Neglecting your emotional health is irresponsible." Gerome rattled it off dully, but rapidly, like he had said it all before. "Additionally, your emotional state—more specifically the decisions you make during that state—affects the people around you. So if you won't maintain it for yourself, you should maintain it for the people close to you. There's gotta be at least one starry-eyed moron worrying about you somewhere out there." Or maybe he heard it all before.

"Whatever," Robin muttered. She knew he was right, of course.

"I'm going to teach you a breathing technique." Gerome tugged on his hood and closed his eyes. "Close your eyes, too. I'll know if you don't."

"Yeah, right. I have no reason to listen to you and none to trust you. I'm leaving." As Robin moved to stand, Minerva sunk her claws into her jeans. Robin leaned back against the brick wall with a growl. "Your cat is awfully intelligent."

"Not my cat. My mom's allergic. Minerva's her own cat besides. Now shut up and close your eyes." Ignoring how stupid she felt and how stupid all of this was, Robin drifted her eyes shut. It wasn't like she had anything better to do. They sat in silence as the minutes dripped on. First period had to be almost over. Did Stahl go back to class, Robin wondered. Or was he somewhere on the other side of the school being lectured by some other grumpy boy and his cat? Neither here nor there, Robin reminded herself. Her priority was the newspaper not him. And the newspaper was still out there.

"This is stupid," Robin said.

"It's only been like two minutes. You needed a few before we started breathing." In the darkness, Gerome's voice sounded deeper, with a tinge of gentleness hidden under all the roughness. "Okay. Now, just inhale when I say inhale and exhale when I say exhale. Clear your mind. Let go of your worry."

"I'm not forgetting about anything." If she let go, then she couldn't fix it. Dad had taught her long ago, after her first failed audition, to internalize every failure, every issue. Forgetting meant accepting, and accepting meant Anna won.

"It's not forgetting. It's… expressing. Silent expressing."

"I'm not doing that either." That meant burdening people. The second reason she had learned to internalize everything. The reason she should be working on pulling Anna's paper out of the public eye before everyone felt compelled to pity her. "I need to be out there actively fixing things. Not here. Sitting on the ground with a complete stranger and his cat becoming one with nature."

"Not my cat," Gerome muttered. "And it's not becoming one with nature. It's becoming one with yourself. Your tendency to compartmentalize all of your issues is written all over the pinch of your face. Do I have to tell you again that's unhealthy? Not to mention counterproductive? If you try to face your problems while distracted with all the other issues in your life, the stress will crumple you. Now, just relax. If it doesn't work, fine. Now inhale."

Clenching her fists, Robin did. This was so incredibly stupid. "Exhale." She was stupid for going along with it. "Inhale." Her breathing sounded loud in the silence and a little raspy. Perhaps she was coming down with a cold? "Exhale." Whatever. Anna was the primary concern. If she wouldn't take down the paper directly, there must be some other way, Robin decided, to dispose of the thing. "Inhale." Just recollect it? Really, the only goal was to keep the people she knew from reading it. The band, her brother… Stahl. Who was probably worrying right now. "Ex—Just forget it."

Robin popped her eyes open. Blinking in the sudden light, Robin found Gerome scowling down on her. "You're doing it all wrong," he said. Minerva pawed at some of Robin's hair with a disapproving mewl. "I told you in the beginning to let go. Not worry more. Don't even bother lying," Gerome snapped as Robin opened her mouth. "Your fingernails are practically drawing blood from your palms."

"Well that's because your advice is wrong." Robin rose to her feet, sending Minerva tumbling from her lap with an indignantly fluffed tail. "I'm not putting up with this. It's stupid, and I have things to do."

Gerome scooped Minerva, now a giant, puffed-up ball of fur with two beady eyes in the middle, and stood up as well. "You're going to hurt someone like that," he announced. The boy was taller than her—why was everyone always taller than her?—, and towering over her, there was almost something ominous in his bearing.

"You don't even know me," Robin growled. The words were like ice on her skin anyways. Ignoring the little chill down her spine, Robin left the boy and his cat behind the school. Second period started in fifteen minutes anyways.

* * *

Stahl wouldn't look at her during band. It was probably for the best, Robin decided, because the meaningful glances the rest of the musicians were casting her left her nowhere else to look. Therefore, it was hardly unusually she noticed the tight set of his mouth and all the sighs that rose Stahl's shoulders and dropped them back down. It was her fault, of course. Not the noticing. That was… his. Somehow. Friday. The sighs, though. Robin knew those sighs. Those were the sighs Dad used to sigh at the table, long after Robin was supposed to sleep, the sighs after he and mother had their long, long discussions, the ones they had after all her auditions and interviews as a child. The thinking sighs, Dad had called them. The only way to fix his had been by getting performances. To fix Stahl's… the paper needed to go first.

"Robin?" Her brother was looking up at her, confusion and poorly masked concern in his voice. If anyone knew her head, Robert would, and Robert liked to worry.

"Yes?" Robin forced it into an even tone.

"You… stopped conducting? Did we do something wrong?" Robert was watching her carefully.

"Ah… yeah. The flutes," Robin said. Maribelle narrowed her eyes suspiciously. At Maribelle's side, Libra glanced at Robin through a waterfall of blonde. "You guys need to play louder. I couldn't hear you at all."

"That's cuz we we're restin'," Brady growled. "Unless my music is wrong."

Godsdamnit. The blonde freshman blinked up at her with his puppy-dog eyes. "It's… right. Sorry. I guess—"

"You do look a little tired, Robin. It's probably that, right?" Sumia's voice was like a chime, and while the attempt was sweet, Robin knew no one believed it.

"Ahh, yeah. Let's—"

"Let's end practice early today," Chrom said. Before she could object, the boy already had his trumpet case out and was urging Lucina to do the same.

* * *

As everyone else packed up, Stahl slipped a stack of crumpled loose-leaf on to her stand. Robin chanced a glance at his face, despite the sudden wobbliness in her fingers. Leaning on the stand's edge, Stahl wasn't smiling. "Biology notes," he murmured. "Figured you didn't go."

"Surprisingly thorough." But not quite as surprising as the nonchalance in her voice. "Didn't sleep through class today?" It was the first thing she could think of, and it sounded vaguely insulting. Robin flicked her eyes back up to Stahl's, looking for some sign he didn't take offense.

"Didn't go," Stahl replied simply.

"You should have," Robin said. Stahl's mouth set itself in an even thinner line than before. Robin winced internally.

"I was talking," he said. "To Anna. You know, I don't think she knows who published that article any more than you do. Perhaps—"

"You can't do that." It popped out before Robin could stop it. Anna would destroy him if it suited her, and she had definitely threatened him when the three were in the paper room. Judging by Stahl's confused frown, the boy hadn't noticed. "Just—Anna's dangerous. And you're… you."

Stahl's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"

"It means that…that…" That the thought of her taking advantage of you twists me in five kinds of knots. Robin couldn't tell him that, though. She couldn't even open her mouth to start the phrase. "That I don't trust you near her," Robin scolded. "You believe in people too much. A few honeyed words, and she'll have you tripping over your own feet to help her."

"I'm not tripping over my own feet to help her. I'm suggesting that you just take a step back for a second," Stahl said. If she took a step back, Anna would just slink right in to that spot. And then turn him against her. Or make him worry about her. Robin wasn't sure which was worse.

Stahl's frown had already begun to darken. The excuse worked, and Robin decided to run with it. "I get it," Robin said. "She's rather pretty." Something in Stahl's eyes flashed at that. Wait. Did he find Anna attractive? Robin forced whatever was rising in her throat back down to her stomach. "And that's apparently distracting you. If you can't keep the two matters separate, just stay out. Don't use me as an excuse to talk to her." It came out snappier than she wanted, and Stahl's jaw dropped.

The boy seemed stuck processing. Was he formulating an excuse? Or something else? With a shake of his head, Stahl restarted. "What? Robin, that's not at all—I'm not the one being distracted by Anna. You're letting her get in your head and wind you up. Just—"

"Don't tell me to reevaluate," she growled. Something about Anna wasn't right, and even if she ensnared Stahl, Robin wouldn't be fooled.

"I'm telling you to listen," Stahl replied. He pulled away first, and the sensation of parting with that frown on his face left her speechless. Robin snagged his hand in both of hers before she could second guess it. Stahl's hand, at least, was still warm, even if hers felt icy. But she couldn't think of what to say, and when Stahl freed his own fingers, Robin let her hands fall to her sides.

* * *

On Wednesday during biology, Robin barged into the newspaper room again, only to find it deserted. Not only was the redhead missing, most of the papers were gone. The room was almost bare, a few stacks of old editions and some computers adorning one corner. Whatever Stahl thought about Anna and her pretty face—were redheads really his type?—, Robin would prove him wrong. She flipped through the newspapers first. They were meaningless to her, one on some sports star, another on the brute from Monday. There was one she pulled out, Cordelia's face emblazoned on the cover, a feature on the redhead's injury. Cordelia would probably be disappointed in her right now. She also wouldn't have let Stahl stop her from giving Anna a strong slap.

Setting the paper down, Robin turned to the monitors. One was on, and Robin slid into the rolling chair in front of the screen. It was another log. Names ran down one column, time stamps down the other. Outside of Anna's name, most of it was nonsense. But it had been the last thing someone examined before leaving… Next to the monitor was a printer, a battered model from years ago, but it still worked, Robin discovered as she printed out the log. Perhaps someone else would understand it. Nothing more on the computer was opened, and hesitant to touch anything else, Robin left the machine alone. Tucking the mysterious log into her bag, Robin snuck out before anyone returned.

Biology still ran for thirty minutes, but Robin couldn't go now. Stahl would know, and Robin didn't really know what to do with him. Instead Robin let... something tug her back to the back of the school, where Gerome was already leaning against a brick wall. "Don't you have class?" she asked, looking down on him.

Gerome scowled as Minerva hopped out of his lap and nudged against Robin's leg with a purr. "Don't you?" he replied. As Gerome continued to grumble, Minerva began to paw at Robin's leg. "She wants you to sit down. You're here for the breathing exercise, right?"

Squatting next to Minerva, Robin frowned. "No. I'm just here."

"Well, Minerva seems to think you still need it." Gerome sighed. "Fine. We can try again. Don't waste my time."

"I don't—"

"Say what you want. It's all in your shoulders again, and I skipped first period for this. Close your eyes." Hands fixing his hoody for maximum face coverage, Robin supposed, Gerome closed his own eyes. Perhaps he was a good person, too, under all his gruffness. The boy's reddening face clashed with the soft pink of his hair as he continued to tug on his hood. "Hurry up. I can feel you staring at me."

"Fine. Just hang on." Once Robin sat herself Indian style on the ground, she turned to dig through her bag. Minerva's ears perked as she pulled a small tin from her backpack. Cracking it open, Robin had to suppress a smile as the cat nuzzled her fingers out of the way of the tuna fish. "Minerva likes fish, huh?"

"D-don't bribe Minerva. Those tricks won't work on her. Just shut up and close your eyes."

"It's not a bribe. It's an apology for knocking her off my lap yesterday." Before she closed her eyes, Robin caught a glimpse of Gerome's pout.

"Inhale." Relax. This time Robin would—But Dad had never been wrong before. "Exhale." Why had she come back at all, then, Robin wondered, if not to breathe? The fish for Minerva, if she was being… honest with herself, may or may not have been an excuse. "Inhale. And unclench your fists." Stretching out her hands with a scowl, Robin couldn't ignore the tension in the boy's tone. He was about to stop it again. "Exhale." If she cleared her head, just a little, perhaps she would have a better time with the log. Clear. Clear. Just focus on something else. "Inhale." Smells were sharper in the dark. Robin could catch not only Minerva's fish, but also the grass and her own shampoo. "Exhale." So were sounds. Gerome's voice had become almost melodious, a masculine tone as regular as a clock. The birds in the nearby trees sounded feet rather than yards away.

"Inhale." Touch… Minerva had crawled into her lap long after finishing the fish, now a fluffy heater over her legs. Then there was the grass under her fingers, slippery and cool. Touch… touch… Stahl's hand had hardly been cool under her fingers yesterday. "Exhale." Where was he now? In biology? Somewhere with Anna trying to fix Robin's problems? Or had he abandoned that pretense? "Inhale." That redhead would wrap him around her fingers and leave him heartbroken. The satisfaction of the impending 'I told you so' didn't make Robin feel any better. She felt a little sick just imaging the pair being… any kind of intimate. "What are you doing? I didn't tell you to exhale then. Stop. It's all screwed up." Robin blinked her eyes open to Gerome's scowl. Shit.

* * *

Robin dropped her bag with a resounding thud as Anna, draped over the conductor's stand, flashed her a glimmering smile. "You know, most people would be thrilled if I offered to feature their blossoming club. But you look—"

"Buzz off."

"A little tense," Anna finished.

At Anna's side, Chrom ventured a shy hand out to Robin's shoulder. "Robin? Just relax. It's an apology." So perhaps Stahl wasn't the only one dealing with Anna behind her back.

"So there's something for you to apologize for, Anna? Go on then. I'd love to hear it," Robin said. The girl was pretty, beautiful even, but Robin couldn't help but glare at her. For everything.

"Actually, I'm apologizing for paper as a whole. A friend of yours was rather… persuasive. Very insistent that you'd prefer an article on the band instead of you. And then the boyfriend agreed." Anna treated Chrom with a wink.

"Well, good thing neither of them make my decisions," Robin snarled. "Just get out. Now."

Anna huffed. "Darling—"

"Robin said go." Sumia had risen to her feet, gentle face forced into a firm glare. With a shaky voice, the brunette continued. "You're—you're the one who wrote those things about her. So best I can tell, y-you probably owe her. Big time. B-because those upset her. If I were you, I would leave now, before I—"

"Gah! Stumbles! Slow down there!" Springing to his feet, Gaius squeezed between musicians and instruments to Sumia's side. Anna's mouth popped open in mild amusement. "Anna's just a little… She runs on cold-blooded killer mode all the time. Just have to remind her every now and then that we aren't all out to steal her money." What? Robin looked from Gaius to Anna. They knew each other, twin faces of amused acknowledgement coloring their faces. Then… did Gaius know of the article? There was something she didn't understand somewhere in this.

"Wait. Stumbles? As in Stumbles of the…" Anna made some odd hand-waving gesture, wide grin plastered over her face. It was perhaps the first honest smile Robin had seen on the editor. As Gaius buried his face in his hands, Anna stuck one of her own out to Sumia. "Anna, a pleasure. Did you know he wet the bed until the ripe old age of nine?"

"Well, you're not a natural redhead, but I don't tell that to all your friends." Robin frowned. Anna and Gaius seemed close, and while Gaius was slightly unsavory, he was hardly a bad person. Definitely a person who had defended her in the past. Why then would he not mention… this? Glancing back to the pair, Robin found them still clutching at Sumia's hands, the puzzled brunette between them. "And that only happened once. When I was nine. While watching a scary movie. Just—just so we're all clear on that." With a suspicious frown, Sumia let Gaius tug her back to her seat.

Clearing her throat, Anna pulled her eyes from the pair. "Now, where were we… Ah, yes, interviewing. Just… let your band organize this mess or something, and I'll talk to a few of them. Easy-peasy. Set them off to do whatever, and I'll talk to you first." Anna watched her process all of it for a moment. "Listen. Whether you like this or not, it'll be good for the band. The questions will be strictly professional. Get them set up, and join me outside." Gritting her teeth, Robin set the band to organizing sheet music before following Anna outside.

* * *

So this was Stahl's type. Somehow that was the first thing she could come up with alone with the editor in the hallway. Anna was definitely stunning, curvy in all the right places, voluminous red hair—apparently dyed, though. Would that be a turn-off? A little part of her hoped it would be—, and confidence galore. "Admiring the view?" Anna asked. The girl smirked, displaying her flawlessly white teeth.

"Why are you even here?" Robin asked. "You've got a lot of nerve to stalk back in here and try to write another work on the band. I'm not giving you anything. You've already got it from your first 'interview' of me. Isn't that enough?"

"I actually took you out here to threaten you. That okay?" Anna's expression was sweet, but Robin couldn't quite doubt the words she had just heard from the editor's mouth.

"Excuse me?"

"Sweetie, you're playing a very, very dangerous game. I don't take prisoners. Well, except maybe as hostages. Which I have one of, coincidentally. Whoops?" Anna said, gaze focused on her chipped fingernail paint.

"What?" Robin felt a little wobbly. That had been the main goal in removing the paper, to minimize the amount of damage she would deal to her friends. Of course, of course it was all for nothing. Of course the paper would be replaced only to dangle someone else over a much brighter fire.

"Remember when I said reputation in high school is everything? High schoolers—as I'm sure you know—can be so very, very cruel to the people they perceive as worse than them or lower than them. And people who try to jump the social food chain, get a little cozy with important people… Well, you've experienced that yourself." Anna looked up from her short fingernails to flash Robin a grin. It was the lighting, Robin decided, that made the red-head look positively predatory. "You know… you could be considered an important figure. I mean… they hardly love you, but they don't hate you. At any rate, the school knows you now. You have my paper to thank for that. Might even have gotten you a few admirers of your own."

"I don't—"

"You don't see where I'm going this." The redhead placed a finger on her chin and leant in, her face inches away from Robin's own. Robin swallowed, and the editor's smirk only deepened. Proximity was something she had never been comfortable with. Whatever was glimmering in Anna's eyes suggested she knew it, too. "That's because you're out of your league, dearest. Tell me who published you, or I print this very lovely, very personal interview a good friend of yours gave me. It was a very sweet action… But then, sweet never holds up well against the harshness of jealous people."

Robin backed a few steps. With some space between them, the girl began to pace. "You published this. Or anyone with access to the internet. I don't know. How many times do—"

"You auditioned for a pianist seat in some concert… three weeks ago? That's not on the internet." The editor leaned against a locker with a sigh.

"Then you called the university that auditioned me. I don't know, Anna. I don't know what's going on, and I'm beyond caring. Does it even matter? Or do you just get some perverse pleasure out of watching people squirm?" Robin wanted to tug at her hair. It wouldn't make anything better, she reminded herself.

Anna watched her with narrowed eyes. They were almost catlike slits, absorbing and measuring every little facial tic. An unfriendly version of Stahl's observant gaze. "I didn't publish your article. I've been considering interviewing. For quite a while. But I'd never publish something without the interviewee's consent. And I'd never steal from other sources. That's cheap. The skeleton was done the night before publishing, but I never filled in the interview."

"I find that hard to believe, coming from the person who wouldn't remove my article when I asked," Robin spat.

Anna rolled her eyes. "It doesn't work like that. I told you. Now. Tell me who interviewed you, who published your article, and like I do to anyone who deals behind my back, I'll destroy them. You don't keep secrets from the Secret Seller. Especially not when her reputation's on the line."

"I don't know who published this."

The redhead rose from the locker and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine. I destroy you first. You have a week to change your mind, or it's your friend's head on the chopping block. And then the next. And the next. And then maybe at some point your brother's." Whipping the band room door open, Anna closed it behind her with a sharp click.

* * *

Robin knew exactly two people stupid enough to approach Anna, and Gaius watched Sumia like a hawk. Slamming her hands down on the folding table, Robin ignored Olivia's squeak. As Olivia, Kellam, and Donnel all scrambled for the sheet music Robin had scattered off the table, Stahl began to play with the corner of the sheet he still had in his hands. Any hope she had plummeted through the floor. "What the hell did you do, Stahl?"

"Nothing important," Stahl said. He was smiling at her, one of his careful, comforting ones that warmed her face like the sun's rays warmed the Earth. Robin just felt cold. "Hey… Really. It's no—"

"Godsdamnit, don't tell me it's nothing!" Someone under the table flinched, sending more music to the ground.

"Maybe we should talk outside?" If Stahl thought his even voice would be enough to placate her, he didn't know her at all. "Robin…?" The smile that pulled on his lips was almost apologetic, but it was still a smile. Some variant of the smile he had probably given Anna when she lured him into believing her.

"You—you—How naïve are you? Gods. Gods, gods, gods. I can't—I don't—I told you—from the very beginning—to stay out of it." Her voice was shaking, barely, but enough that Robin could hear it. She couldn't handle this. This was a different sort of pressure. A pressure she had religiously avoided since childhood. "You shouldn't have meddled."

"I was just trying to help," Stahl said softly. He had begun to round the table, and Robin just knew if the boy got much closer she wouldn't be able to think straight. What was it Gerome had mentioned? Meditative breathing? Inhale, exhale, inhale—And Stahl's face was much too close for her to even breathe properly. Not with her emotions on a high already. Gods. Had he known he trusted her with his innocent expression when he talked to Anna? "Don't even worry about it. Please."

"Oh. Oh, please? Please. That makes it all better. Never mind the bit—" Breathe. Robin could practically hear Gerome snapping at her about the tension in her shoulders. She closed her eyes, and the darkness was a little better. In the isolation, her breathing sounded feather soft, controlled. "What did you tell her?"

Reopening her eyes, Robin found Stahl simply staring. His lips were parted, and his gaze was fixed on her face. Warmth radiated from his hands, hovering just over her shoulders. Was that the wrong thing to ask? Stahl blinked, ripping his eyes from hers. Running a hand through his hair, the boy sighed. "I feel really bad about this… but I can't tell you," Stahl said.

"You need to tell me." Stahl just shook his head, still focused on his shoes. She couldn't tell him about Anna. Watching him ashamed over this… it made her sick. Anna was going to regret this. But before that, Robin needed to know what she was dealing with. "Is it about... the thing you told me about? With the food?" Hopefully he understood she meant the diner. Whether he did or not, the boy shook his head again. What else? Stahl didn't tell her much. At least not much beyond paying work and school work. What was it Anna had said… Something about jealousy and important people. "Anna. Omigods. Anna. The two of you…"

Stahl blinked. Then something clicked into place along with the glimmer in his eye Robin had seen a few days ago. "N-no. Robin, I've told you that's not a thing."

"Together. With her. You did something. Something she can prove." They had kissed. Robin buried her hands in her hair. At least kissed. Stahl had at least kissed a girl hellbent on screwing with her life. Kissed. She needed more air. "You betrayed me. You—you—"

"Ahhh, Robin?" She lurched into Stahl's chest with a squeak, just registering his gasp. Kellam rubbed at his nose, face colored a sheepish pink. They were in the band room, she remembered. Everyone was staring, and Robin wasn't sure which was worse, the realization she had just exposed herself to their curious gazes or that she had just exposed Stahl to them. "N-not to interrupt, but—"

"Get back to work." Kellam flinched. "All of you. Back to work. Now." Twisting around, Robin found Stahl still silent. Robin searched his face, his eyes still unwilling to meet hers, the powder pink beginning to dust his cheeks and nose, the scrap of bottom lip caught in his teeth. He had been with Anna, and the thought was like an ice cube in her belly. "You, too. Or don't. Don't care."

"Then maybe I should take a quick minute."

"Right."

"Right."

* * *

**So... If you're wondering where the extra segment is this chapter... This particular installment is a whopping 10,000 words, aka the largest yet, and there wasn't anything I wanted to cut. That, combined with life conflicts, means the extra I had planned for Cordelia doesn't exist. Apologies. Hopefully the regular chapter will get you your FE:A fix for a little while!**

**Next installment: A bowling double date! Gerome joins band! Robin gets her audition results! People go to the movies! Everything is awkward! About half of it is misunderstood anyways!**

**As always, I love your reviews, opinions, pairing suggestions, etc. Even more so after a break! I need to get into the swing of things!**


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